Starfinder Roleplaying Game
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Name ▼ Page Description
Free Hands A free hands weapon is unbalanced or otherwise awkward to use.
Fueled A fueled weapon has an integrated petrol tank and must be activated to function properly. This works like the powered weapon special property, except it uses petrol as a fuel source instead of a battery.
Grapple When wielding a grapple weapon, you can use it to perform a grapple combat maneuver without having your hands free.
Gravitation When you hit a target with a gravitation weapon, you can move that target the listed distance either toward you or away from you unless it succeeds at a Reflex save (DC = 10 + 1/2 weapon’s item level + your Dexterity…
Guided A guided weapon uses a signal along with wireless telemetry, magnetic guidance, or another means of guiding its payload after the weapon has been fired.
Harrying A harrying weapon produces exceptionally distracting bursts of fire. When you take the harrying fire action with this weapon, you gain a +2 insight bonus to your attack roll.
Holy Water A holy water weapon is infused with the blessings of one or more good-aligned deities (most commonly Hylax, Iomedae, or Sarenrae within the Pact Worlds, though devoted followers of any good-aligned deity could create…
Ignite Weapons with the ignite special property use an accelerant to start small, intense fires on their targets.
Indirect An indirect weapon uses a wireless signal along with a multistage firing system, internal telemetry, bimetallic fluctuation, magnetic guidance, or some other system to make it appear as if a shot from the weapon had…
Integrated An integrated weapon can be wielded normally or installed in an armor upgrade slot. When properly installed, the weapon is considered to be wielded without needing to assign a number of hands to wield it.
Living Unlike simpler forms of biotech, a living weapon is not just organic material—it’s actually a simple living organism.
Mind-Affecting A mind-affecting weapon affects only creatures with minds; targets that are immune to mind-affecting effects are immune to this weapon.
Mine A weapon with the mine special property is able to modify the ammunition fired from it to delay the detonation of its ordnance.
Mire A mire weapon has a defined area (generally a radius) that it temporarily turns into difficult terrain.
Modal A modal weapon can be toggled to deal different types of damage, with the options listed in the weapon’s damage entry.
Polarize A weapon with the polarize special property briefly builds up a polarized charge in a target.
Professional A professional weapon is a tool used in a specialized trade that nevertheless has tremendous damaging potential.
Radioactive A radioactive weapon contains unstable radioactive components.
Recall A recall weapon is keyed to a wristband or another small device worn by the wearer (which does not count against the maximum of two worn magic or hybrid items).
Shape A weapon with the shape special property has a complex targeting array that allows it to target specified areas.
Shells A few melee weapons can be loaded with scattergun shells to create a powerful close-range, one-shot attack. A weapon with the shell special property lists its capacity and usage value.
Shield A shield weapon encapsulates the target in a short-term force field. This force field lasts until the start of your next turn or until it has absorbed the listed amount of damage, whichever occurs first.
Subtle A subtle weapon fires either very small ordnance or otherwise generates a nearly imperceptible discharge that even the target may not be aware of.
Sunder When you attempt a sunder combat maneuver while wielding a weapon with the sunder weapon special property, you gain a +2 bonus to your attack roll.
Tail If you have a tail (or similar taillike appendage), you can wear a weapon with the tail weapon special property on your tail, rather than wield it in your hand.
Thought A thought weapon can be fully or partially controlled via telepathy.
Throttle A throttle weapon deals damage only when it is used to grapple a foe, automatically dealing damage with every successful grapple combat maneuver.
Variant Boost A weapon with the variant boost special property acts as a weapon with the boost special property, except boosting the weapon does not expend additional charges and the weapon can be boosted only the listed number of…
Wide Line A wide line weapon functions as a weapon with the line weapon special property, except the line is 10 feet wide.
Critical Hit Effects If your attack roll is a natural 20 and your attack total is equal to or greater than your target’s AC, your attack is a critical hit.
Armor Armor is usually the easiest and most cost-effective way for creatures to protect themselves.
Augmentations Many explorers and mercenaries modify their own bodies with technological or biological gear called augmentations. These are modifications to your body that give you special abilities and bonuses.
Technological Items Technology is everywhere in Starfinder, and includes any number of devices useful to adventurers, such as those presented on Table 7–26: Technological Items.
Personal Upgrades Personal upgrades are a special class of augmentation that do not follow the normal system-limitation rules.
Biotech Functioning similarly to cybernetics, biotech items include modifications to your DNA combined with implants of biological origin that integrate into your physiology.
Computers Computers control most of the modern tools and conveniences in the Starfinder universe, from simple door locks to advanced overminds controlling all incoming and outgoing traffic from a spacedock.
Magic Items While plenty of technology in Starfinder incorporates magical elements, some items operate solely through eldritch principles and thus follow different rules.
Hybrid Items Hybrid equipment makes use of both technology and magic; though not necessarily in equal measure, both forces are crucial to the item’s function.
Vehicles Vehicles range from simple personal transports to massive airships and sea vessels. The rules for vehicles and vehicle chases are found in Chapter 8, starting on page 278.
Starships From the smallest transport shuttles to the largest, battle- ready dreadnoughts, starships are an important part of the Starfinder Roleplaying Game.
Sample Starships This page presents a handful of ship models common (or at least well-known) within the Pact Worlds and allied planets.
Serums Serums are vials of magic liquid that you can imbibe as a standard action or carefully trickle down the throat of a helpless or unconscious creature as a full action.
Other Items Beyond weapons, armor, and crucial technological, magical, and hybrid equipment, explorers and adventurers need food, clothing, survival supplies, and other basic gear.
Combat From high-level descriptions of how tactical combat works in Starfinder and robust breakdowns of tactical actions to in-depth explanations of key tactical concepts and special abilities, this chapter contains everything…
Starship Combat The fathomless depths of space are dangerous to even the most experienced crews, but they can be deadly to those who wander the stars unprepared.
Captain Actions As a captain, you can take any of the following actions, depending on your character level, during any phase of combat.
Engineer Actions As an engineer, you can take any of the following actions, depending on your ranks in the Engineering skill. These actions can be taken only during the engineering phase.
Gunner Actions As a gunner, you can take any of the actions below, depending on your character level. These actions can be taken only during the gunnery phase.
Pilot Actions As a pilot, you can take the following actions, depending on your ranks in the Piloting skill. These actions can be taken only during the helm phase.
Science Officer Actions As a science officer, you can take any of the following actions, depending on your ranks in the Computers skill. These actions can be taken only during the helm phase.
Minor Crew Actions Minor crew actions are computer-aided actions that allow a starship limited functionality if it doesn’t have the necessary crew to fill all the roles (for instance, the lone crew member aboard a Tiny starship might…
Adventuring
Traps Ancient alien ruins and corporate offices alike are rife with traps and defense mechanisms meant to protect valuable goods, personnel, and information.
Afflications Curses, diseases, drugs, and poisons can all have effects on a character that continue long past the character’s first exposure.
Creatures You are not alone in the universe. In the Starfinder Roleplaying Game, strange new creatures and cultures await your party of adventurers on every new planet and space station.
Sources
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Overview 4Delving into alien ruins in search of lost magic. Matching wits with corporate technomancers and their robot army in the gritty streets of a space station.
What’s a Roleplaying Game? 6Starfinder is a tabletop adventure roleplaying game (RPG): an interactive story in which one player—the Game Master—sets the scene and presents challenges, while the other players each assume the role of a science…
What's In This Book? 7This book contains all the information you need to play Starfinder, whether you’re a player or a Game Master.
Some Basic Concepts 7To make the best use of this book, you’ll want to be familiar with several key terms and abbreviations. These are used throughout the book, and many are common to tabletop roleplaying in general.
Overview of Play 9Building a basic understanding of Starfinder gameplay will help you absorb the game’s mechanical details. The following are common aspects of Starfinder play.
Character Creation 12
Character Creation Steps 14As a player of the Starfinder Roleplaying Game, the first thing you need to do is create a character.
Step 1: Create a Character Concept 14What sort of science fantasy hero do you want to play? A good way to start character creation is to decide the general thrust of your character’s personality, sketching out a few details about her past and thinking…
Step 3: Choose a Theme 14Next, you can choose a theme for your character, which represents a core aspect of her background and motivations.
Step 9: Fill in the Finishing Details 16Now add the following details to your character sheet.
Ability Scores 18Your character has six ability scores that represent her basic attributes and raw potential: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma.
Buying Ability Scores 18In this method, you customize your ability scores by “buying” them using a pool of points.
Optional Method: Ability Quick Picks 19Sometimes you’re making a character in a hurry and don’t care about precisely customizing your ability scores.
Optional Method: Rolling Ability Scores 20The buying ability scores method works great if you want to create a perfectly customized, balanced character.
Ability Descriptions 20Each ability describes a distinct aspect of your character and affects different capabilities and actions.
Ability Modifiers and Ability Checks 21The right-hand column in Table 2–1 shows the ability modifier corresponding to each ability score. This modifier is applied to die rolls related to your abilities, such as skill checks, attacks, and more.
Leveling Up and Ability Scores 21Every 5 levels (at 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th levels), you get to increase and customize your ability scores. Each time you reach one of these level thresholds, choose four of your ability scores to increase.
Health and Resolve 22Starfinder is an adventure game, which means that two very important qualities are key to your survival: the amount of punishment you can take without dying, and your ability to stick to your convictions in the face of…
Alignment 24Alignment is a quick way to characterize an individual’s personality, morality, and predilections. It encompasses two axes: good-evil and law-chaos.
Leveling Up 26As player characters overcome challenges, they gain experience points (also called “XP”) as a quantification of everything they’ve learned and practiced.
Races 38This chapter outlines the “core races” of Starfinder—those most common in the Pact Worlds and intended for use as PCs. For some less common races, see Chapter 13.
Classes 56Your character’s class represents her field of expertise, whether she’s a battle-hardened soldier or a technomancer bending the laws of physics.
Overview 58Each class entry begins by describing a stereotypical member of the class and suggesting a number of ways your character might use her abilities during an adventure.
Class Features 59Each of your class features is detailed in the remainder of the class description.
Archetypes 126From the cunning operative to the deadly soldier, each core class in the Starfinder Roleplaying Game draws upon a central idea common to many characters found in science fantasy settings.
Gaining an Archetype 126You can gain an archetype when you achieve a new class level in an eligible class matching the earliest level for which the archetype offers an alternate class feature.
Alternate Class Features 126An archetype grants alternate class features that replace or alter class features normally granted by your class at one or more levels.
Other Considerations 126While having an archetype may represent your training with or membership in a specific faction, having the archetype is generally not required for you to be considered part of a faction.
Skills 130Whether you are a battle-hardened soldier who can freeze a foe’s blood with a glance, a garrulous envoy who can blend into any social situation, or a brilliant technomancer with knowledge about every subject in the…
Acquiring Skills 132Each level, including 1st level, you gain a number of skill ranks.
Skill Checks 132No matter how skilled you become, when using skills, success is rarely certain. To determine whether you succeed when using a skill, you attempt a skill check: roll 1d20 and add your total skill bonus to the roll.
Identify Creatures 133You can use certain skills to identify creatures. The skill used to identify each creature type is listed below and in the individual skill descriptions.
Recall Knowledge 133You can use certain skills to recall knowledge about specific topics. The topics a given skill relates to are detailed in the individual skill descriptions.
Skills and Starship Combat 134Whether you’re attempting a complicated flying maneuver, patching a power core, or scanning enemy vessels, skills are a vital part of the system that governs combat between starships.
Skill Descriptions 134This section explains each skill, including common uses and tasks, typical modifiers, and sometimes even established DCs. Your GM may require or allow you to use skills for tasks other than those listed here.
Acrobatics (Dex; Armor Check Penalty) 135You can keep your balance while traversing narrow or treacherous surfaces, escape from restraints, and tumble to avoid attacks. You also use Acrobatics to determine the success of difficult maneuvers while flying.
Athletics (Str; Armor Check Penalty) 136You can scale vertical surfaces, leap over obstacles, and swim.
Bluff (Cha) 137You can use words and actions to create distractions, misdirect your opponents, tell convincing lies, and pass along secret messages.
Computers (Int; Trained Only) 137You can operate, manipulate, and hack into computer systems. If you don’t have physical access to a computer system’s user interface, you must use a hacking kit to access and manipulate the system.
Culture (Int; Trained Only) 139You are a student of the vast number of known cultures in the galaxy, and you have a deep and rich understanding of the undercurrents of cultures and language in general.
Engineering (Int; Trained Only) 141You can identify, build, repair, or disable technological devices; assess the stability of structures and machinery; and properly arm and disarm explosives.
Intimidate (Cha) 142You can rattle your foes or bully them to do what you want with verbal threats or displays of prowess.
Life Science (Int; Trained Only) 142You are educated in the scientific study of living things, from the smallest organisms to the largest biological systems.