A Hands-On Look Inside Starfinder Second Edition Player Core

There are three versions of Starfinder Player Core: Standard, Special and a Retailer Only Edition

Paizo, Inc.

After a year of public playtest, Starfinder Second Edition premiered at Gen Con earlier this month. Paizo delivered the Starfinder Player Core into the hands of fans in Indianapolis. Now they can blast off on science fantasy adventures inspired by Star War, Guardians of the Galaxy and more

I received a copy of Starfinder Player Core a few weeks ago. This is one of my most anticipated releases for the year. I loved what Paizo did with Pathfinder Second Edition Remastered and to see Starfinder get the same treatment really excited me.

What Is Starfinder?

Starfinder is a science fantasy role playing game from Paizo, Inc. It blends high magic and high tech together allowing ancient wizards and cocky star pilots to team up together for wild adventures. Players can plunder a dragon’s hoard one week and battle an undead star fleet the next.

Starfinder Second Edition revamps the rules for full compatibility with Pathfinder Second Edition. The games stand alone but now Game Masters can use material across game lines to add even more options to their table. For anyone that’s ever wanted to battle a goblin scrap fleet or hurl fireballs with one hand while blasting away with the other, this is the game to play.

The setting is a sequel to the one seen in Pathfinder. The world of Golarion disappeared and in its place now lies Absalom Station. Heroes spread out across the galaxy searching for fame, fortune and good fights to fight.

Starfinder Second Edition Player Core

Starfinder Player Core kicks off a fresh take on the new line. It includes 10 ancestries and six classes to build a character. Each of these options include further choices that focus character concepts.

Ancestries include humans as well as several alien types. The aliens generally offer riffs on the classic animal person archetype, such as the ratlike ysoki or the telepathic hive minded shirren. There are two versatile heritages that can be combined with any of these options; the undead Borai and the Drift-infused Prismeni.

The six classes cover the usual archetypes expected in science fantasy. There are unique riffs on these concepts such as the witchwarpers who pull their spells from the multiverse or the solarians who balance the light and dark powers of the stars themselves. Anyone stuck between choices can choose an archetype and blend two classes together seamlessly.

The book contains the basic setting information of the Pact Worlds. Some things have gone down since Starfinder First Edition like the Drift Crisis and a dark alien god hatching out of a planet as if it were an egg. There’s a lot going on here for Game Masters to use to start building their adventures.

Starfinder Second Edition Adventures

For those Game Masters who don’t want to start from scratch, there’s Murder In Metal City. This boxed set drops the players into a cyberpunk murder mystery on the harsh world of Aballon. It included everything for play from first through third level including pre-generated characters, maps, tokens, handout and more.

Paizo also released some adventures during the playtest process that are still compatible. One of them centers on the aforementioned hatching. There’s also a short one from Free RPG Day that gives players a chance to break free from pirates and get their own ship in the process.

Starfinder Second Edition Impressions

My preferences when playing role playing games lean towards light mechanics and heavy story. I admire the craftsmanship that’s gone into Starfinder and I find myself truly enjoying the heavier mechanics in play here. Yes, there seems like there’s a rule for everything but those rules are very well thought out and implemented.

The key design focus of the game is choice. Choices in combat, choices in building characters and choices everywhere. For the most part, these choices seem meaningful and push back against the idea that once everyone’s chosen their class they are stuck in a specific playstyle.

All those combat rules are there to encourage players to not just sigh and roll to hit. Starfinder really sings on the tabletop battle grid and I love the feel of moving people around and making pew pew noises during the fight. Paizo supports this style of play with a great series of flip-mats.

Character builds work the same way with feat choices at every level that help players dial in their characters. There are a lot of feats already but they are so flavorful that just flipping through the list can inspire me to build a new character. I admit that having access to Starfinder Nexus helps me scratch that itch.

I also feel ahead of the game with my copy of Starfinder Galaxy Guide which includes more information and ancestries. I love the idea of putting together a crew with a floating brain guy, a cute but deadly four armed space koala, a cat person James Bond and a laid back psychic star wizard. Starfinder offers some great options to let your players bust the galaxy wide open.