Starfinder Roleplaying Game
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399 rules

Name ▼ Page Description
Stunned 277You drop everything you are holding, you can’t take actions, and you are flat-footed.
Unconscious 277You are knocked out and helpless. Unconsciousness can result from having 0 Hit Points.
Vehicle Tactical Rules 278When you’re in a vehicle fleeing from enemies who are on foot, or you’re on foot yourselves trying to stop a vehicle, movement and combat are represented on a grid, such as a battle map.
Piloting a Vehicle 278When you’re piloting a vehicle during a combat on a grid, the vehicle moves on your initiative count and you have to spend your actions to pilot it.
Uncontrolled Vehicles 280If you are knocked out or cease actively piloting, your vehicle becomes uncontrolled. If you delay your action, the vehicle becomes uncontrolled and continues to act on the same initiative count as it did before.
Attacking From a Vehicle 281Anyone attacking while on a vehicle takes that vehicle’s penalty to attack rolls, as listed in the Modifiers entry of the vehicle’s statistics (see page 228).
Vehicle Chases 282The tactical vehicle rules in the previous section are meant for battles on a grid, with some creatures in vehicles and others on foot.
Phases of a Vehicle Chase 282Chases happen in rounds with three phases, which are described in more detail below.
Pilot Actions 282During the pilot actions phase, the pilot of each vehicle selects any pilot actions she wants to use to drive her vehicle this round, and performs her piloting actions in initiative order during this phase.
Chase Progress 283In the chase progress phase, the GM advances vehicles (based on their pilots’ chosen actions and whether they succeeded at the required checks), then determines whether any participants have escaped or been left behind…
Combat 284The final phase of each round is combat. This happens in initiative order, and characters can take the usual actions they can in combat, with the following adjustments.
Chase Environments 285Where a chase occurs can dramatically influence how it plays out. Heavy traffic, obstacles, and winding paths could all impede a chase or add strategic options for the vehicles involved.
Experience for Vehicle Chases 286PCs earn experience points for successfully completing a vehicle chase.
Sample Vehicle Chase 287Lissa the Game Master is guiding a group of four players as they flee the scene of a successful raid
Starships 288
Space Travel 290No one knows which Pact World first achieved spaceflight, but by the beginning of the modern era, nearly every world had some form of interplanetary travel.
Standard Navigation and astrogation 290Whether they’re patrol craft or battlecruisers, all starships are propelled through space by thrusters.
Drift Navigation 291Using Drift technology differs from ordinary astrogation in that the distances between worlds are less important than the difficulty of correctly targeting the jump.
Building Starships 292From the smallest transport shuttles to the largest, battle-ready dreadnoughts, starships are an important part of the Starfinder Roleplaying Game.
Understanding Starships 292Starships and their base frames are described using stat blocks that include information about how they move, the size of their crews, and more.
Building a Starship 293Regardless of starships’ size and purpose, they’re all created using the same process.
Refitting and Upgrading Starships 305As the PCs go on adventures and gain experience, they need an increasingly powerful starship to face tougher challenges.
Starship Combat 316The fathomless depths of space are dangerous to even the most experienced crews, but they can be deadly to those who wander the stars unprepared.
Roles 316The actions crew members on a starship can take depend upon their roles.
Beginning Starship Combat 316When the crew of a starship has hostile intentions toward another vessel, they go to their battle stations and activate their starship’s targeting systems.
Rounds and Phases 317Like combat between characters, starship combat occurs over a number of rounds until one side flees, surrenders, or is otherwise defeated.
Moving 317The pilot of a starship has a variety of actions (see page 324) that allow her to guide her starship through the cold vastness of space. Unlike in battles between characters, starships face a
Attacking 320Whenever one starship fires a weapon at another starship, that action is resolved with a gunnery check.
Damage 320Combat in space can be highly dangerous to the vessel and its crew.
Crew Actions 322As starship combat progresses, the various crew members aboard each vessel can take the actions their roles allow.
Captain Actions 322As a captain, you can take any of the following actions, depending on your character level, during any phase of combat.
Engineer Actions 323As 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.
Science Officer Actions 324As 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.
Designing Starship Encounters 326From a simple skirmish against pirates to a massive fleet engagement, designing a fun and challenging space combat requires thoughtful planning and careful design on the part of the GM.
Example of Starship Combat 327Crystal the Game Master is running a group of five players. Linda is playing Rose-5, an android mechanic
Magic and Spells 328Although technology and magic are almost inextricably entwined in the Starfinder Roleplaying Game, magic nonetheless works according to specific rules that have little to do with machinery.
Casting Spells 330When your Starfinder character casts a spell, she is harnessing the latent magical energy that permeates the universe to achieve specific, measured effects.
Choosing a Spell 330The first step in casting a spell is to choose which spell to cast.
Spell Level, Caster Level, and Spell Slots 330Once you’ve chosen a spell to cast, take note of its spell level, and then determine the caster level at which you cast it.
Concentration and Interrupted Spells 331To successfully cast a spell, you must concentrate. The length of time you must concentrate to cast a spell is specified in the Casting Time entry in the spell’s description.
The Spell’s Result 331For details about a spell’s range, targets, and other mechanical details, see the spell descriptions on pages 340–385, where the details of Starfinder’s spells are presented.
Combining Magic Effects 332Spells or magical effects usually work as their descriptions state, no matter how many other spells or magical effects happen to be operating in the same area or on the same recipient.
Spell Description Format 332The descriptions of Starfinder’s spells are presented in a standard format, as shown in the sample spell description on page 333.
School and Descriptor 333Beneath the spell’s name is an entry listing the spell’s school of magic. Nearly every spell in Starfinder belongs to one of eight schools of magic.
Area, Effect, and Targets 334When a spell you cast comes into effect, you must make choices about what the spell is to affect or where an effect is to originate, depending on the spell’s type.
Game Mastering 386
Adventures And Campaigns 388As the Game Master, you wear many hats: storyteller, entertainer, judge, inventor, and player.
Building an Adventure 388How much work you put into preparing your adventure is up to you. The easiest approach is to simply modify or run a published adventure (see the sidebar on page 392).
Stat Blocks 388Stat blocks are one of the most complex parts of the game, but also the most useful.
Designing Encounters 388An encounter is any event that presents the PCs with a specific problem that they must solve.
Gaining Experience 390In the Starfinder RPG, characters advance in level by overcoming challenges ranging from combat situations to diplomatic encounters. All of these are symbolized by experience points (XP).
Gaining Wealth 391As PCs gain levels, they tend to obtain wealth. Starfinder assumes that all PCs of equivalent level have roughly equal amounts of wealth in the form of gear, magic items, and raw currency.
Before the Game 392Everyone approaches game mastering differently—some with intensive preparation, others with a sticky note and a prayer.
Running the Game 392Addressed below are several of the common situations and issues that you’ll invariably need to handle during the game.
Environment 394The universe is an endless expanse of adventuring potential. On its billions of worlds, physics create every possible permutation of geology, while life’s endless creativity gives rise to organisms both eerily familiar…
Space 394The immeasurable gulf of space is home to everything on the Material Plane, housing more stars and planets than could ever be recorded.
Astronomical Objects 394Most living beings begin their lives on floating astronomical objects. These planets, planetoids, and stars are the hub of much adventure and vary in complexity of design and makeup.
Atmospheres 395An atmosphere is a layer of gases held in place by the pull of a planetoid’s gravity. The gravity and temperature of a planetoid impact its ability to retain an atmosphere.
Biomes 396The following section includes information on a variety of biomes found on planets.
Aerial Terrain 396On worlds where the atmosphere expands high above the physical boundaries of the surface, there exists a region of open air.
Aquatic Terrain 396Aquatic terrain can be one of the least hospitable to PCs because most can’t breathe underwater.
Desert Terrain 397Desert terrain exists in cold, temperate, and warm climates, but all deserts share one common trait: very little precipitation.
Forest Terrain 397A forest can be composed of more than trees. On some worlds, vast fungal growths tower into the sky, while on others metallic veins rise from the ground and connect in spidery canopies.
Hill and Mountain Terrain 397Hill terrain describes rises in the immediate area, often multiple hills spread over miles. This type of terrain can occur in any other biome.
Marsh Terrain 397Two categories of marsh exist: relatively dry moors and watery swamps. Both are often bordered by lakes (see page 396), which are effectively a third category of terrain found in marshes.
Urban Terrain 398Urban terrain can be found in most settlements where the people have greatly exerted their influence over the surrounding environment, constructing buildings where they can live and work in comfort and laying…
Weather 398Weather can play an important role in an adventure. The following section describes weather common on most habitable worlds.
Environmental Rules 400The following is a compilation of rules appropriate for use in a variety of environments.
Falling 400A character that falls takes 1d6 damage per 10 feet fallen, to a maximum of 20d6. A character that takes damage from a fall lands prone.
Gravity 401Gravitational differences between planets have the potential to cripple characters or make them superheroes—and sometimes both at the same time.
Heat Dangers 402Heat deals nonlethal damage to the victim. A character can’t recover from the damage dealt by a hot environment until she gets out of the heat and cools off.
Radiation 403Radiation is a very real threat to adventurers, whether it’s the radiation emitted from stars or the radiation generated by various technological wonders of the universe.
Suffocation and Drowning 404A character who has no air to breathe can hold her breath for a number of rounds equal to twice her Constitution score.
Settlements 405Any place where sentient life gathers, lives, and works on a regular basis is referred to as a settlement, and they are just as varied as the types of life-forms that occupy them.
Structures 406The following rules cover the basic features that can be found in structures.
Materials 408While materials such as glass and wood are commonly found in terrestrial settlements, some substances are bit more unusual.
Breaking Objects 409When attempting to break an object, you have two choices: smashing it with a weapon or destroying it with sheer strength.
Traps 410Ancient alien ruins and corporate offices alike are rife with traps and defense mechanisms meant to protect valuable goods, personnel, and information.
Afflictions 414Curses, diseases, drugs, and poisons can all have effects on a character that continue long past the character’s first exposure.
Diseases 414Diseases are typically inhaled contagions (though these are usually filtered out by a standard space suit or suit of armor) or injury contagions. Page 417 explains the details of each method of contagion.
Poisons 415Each poison has a delivery mechanism. Page 417 explains the details of the various methods of delivery. A character who is poisoned attempts a saving throw after the listed onset and at the listed frequency thereafter.
How to Read Stat Blocks 420This section presents an example of a creature stat block that might be found in a Starfinder product. Below is a description of each line in that stat block.
Pathfinder Legacy 498The universe of Starfinder takes place in a time far removed from that of Golarion and the Pathfinder RPG setting, but that doesn’t mean you have to leave all of those Pathfinder RPG books behind.
General Conversion 500Some types of rules appear in both monster stat blocks and player character classes, and they can be converted in the same way.
Monster Conversion 501For the most part, Pathfinder RPG monsters can be used in a Starfinder game with few changes.
Character Conversion 503While the core Starfinder classes can simulate a great variety of different science fantasy character concepts, players are always thinking of ideas that can be a little more difficult to model.
Key Ability Score 503Each class in Starfinder denotes one of the six ability scores as that class’s key ability score, and certain calculations (such as DCs for abilities) are based on that score’s modifier.
Class Features 504The most important thing to remember about converting class features is that those granting a bonus to attack rolls or AC should be replaced.
Dwarves 506Dwarves are a stocky race, roughly a foot shorter than humans, with broad, heavy frames.
Elves 507Lithe, long-lived humanoids, elves are easily recognized by their pointed ears and pupils so large that their eyes seem to be all one color.
Gnomes 508Long-ago emigrants from the primal fey realm called the First World, gnomes are a vivacious people who have adapted to their tumultuous heritage in curious ways, and evolved significantly from accounts found in pre-Gap…
Half-Elves 509If it’s true that opposites attract, then elves and humans are the best proof.
Half-Orcs 510Half-orcs have both human and orc ancestry. Though these individuals sometimes result from the union of orcs and humans, the relative rarity of pure-blooded orcs among the Pact Worlds means that most half-orcs are the…
Halflings 511Halflings are a common race in the Pact Worlds and their colonies, having spread nearly as far as humans.
Glossary 512This glossary provides short definitions of some basic terms used in the Starfinder Core Rulebook.
A–C 512Ability Check: To attempt this type of check, roll a d20 and add your modifier for the relevant ability score. See page 21.
D–M 513Damage: This is the numerical value subtracted from a target’s Stamina Points or Hit Points after a successful attack against it. See page 250.
M–S 514Mechanic: This is a class in which your character can train. See pages 68–81.
S–Y 515Square: One square on a battle map represents a 5-foot-by-5-foot space. See pages 255–256 for more about size and space.