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| Starfinder | |
|---|---|
| Title | Starfinder |
| Designer | Paizo Publishing |
| Publisher | Paizo Publishing |
| Date | 2017 |
| Genre | Science fantasy, Space opera, Tabletop role-playing game |
| System | d20 Modern-derived |
Starfinder is a science-fantasy tabletop role-playing game published by Paizo Publishing that blends space opera, science fiction, and fantasy elements. The game emerged from the creative teams behind Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and reuses concepts from d20 System, positioning itself within a lineage that includes Dungeons & Dragons, Mutant Chronicles, and Traveller. Starfinder supports campaign play across star systems, megacities, and extraplanetary ruins while connecting to licensed and licensed-adjacent works such as The Expanse, Mass Effect, and Firefly in tone.
Starfinder presents an interstellar setting where player characters undertake missions as explorers, mercenaries, smugglers, or agents of corporations like The Stewards or factions analogous to The Galactic Empire and The Alliance. The rules combine the tactical miniature and map focus of Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition and the modular customization of Shadowrun with the narrative framing found in Call of Cthulhu and Numenera. Play emphasizes starship combat, planet-side adventuring, and social interaction involving organizations such as The Pact Worlds and entities resembling United Nations-scale coalitions. Campaigns often hinge on artifacts tied to cosmic powers reminiscent of Elder Evils and mysteries akin to narratives in Halo and Star Wars.
The setting centers on the megastructure and polity called the Pact Worlds around a central star, with extraplanetary regions like the Diaspora and cosmic threats including entities akin to ancient gods and constructs related to Golarion-adjacent mythos. Cosmology merges planar concepts from Planescape with astral phenomena comparable to Warp travel and hyperspace concepts in Star Trek. The game features alien species and factions analogous to Illithids, Kintargo-style city-states, and corporate powers similar to Weyland-Yutani and Tyrell Corporation. Interstellar travel, jump points, and star systems are influenced by frameworks used in Elite Dangerous and No Man's Sky.
Mechanically, Starfinder builds on the d20 System lineage with adaptations from Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and innovations for starship rules similar to FTL: Faster Than Light and BattleTech skirmishes. Core mechanics use twenty-sided dice, modifiers, feats, and skill systems related to Savage Worlds and GURPS design philosophies. Starship combat integrates crew roles reminiscent of Mass Effect 2 and task specialization comparable to Space: 1889. The game includes rules for environmental hazards echoing mechanics from Shadowrun: Returns and vehicle chases paralleling Cyberpunk 2020.
Character creation offers expansive options with ancestries modeled after species like Androids, Ysoki, Vesk, Shirrens, and archetypes comparable to Human, Elf, or Dwarf analogues seen in Pathfinder. Classes include the tech-focused Mechanic, magic-competent Mystic, energy weapons specialist Solarian, illusionist-style Operative, and martial Soldier, each reflecting roles found in Star Wars archetypes, Shadowrun roles, and Mass Effect classes. Character progression employs levels, class features, spells, and gear selection echoing design elements from Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition and Pathfinder Second Edition, while multiclassing and archetypes recall systems in Final Fantasy and Baldur's Gate.
The game synthesizes technological devices such as starships, drones, and ray weapons with mystic and arcane traditions comparable to sorcery in The Wheel of Time and psionics akin to Star Trek telepathy. Equipment lists include modular weapons, powered armor, cybernetic augmentations reflecting Deus Ex themes, and magical artifacts reminiscent of The One Ring-type plot devices. Starships function as mobile bases invoking tropes from Serenity and Battlestar Galactica, with upgrade paths and gear trees that parallel mechanics in XCOM and No Man's Sky.
Starfinder was released by Paizo Publishing in 2017 following the success of Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and an evolving tabletop market influenced by companies like Wizards of the Coast and Fantasy Flight Games. The initial core rulebook spawned numerous supplements, adventures, and compendia analogous to expansion cycles seen in Dungeons & Dragons and Call of Cthulhu lines. Organized play and adventure paths drew on the structure used by Pathfinder Society and promotional organized play comparable to D&D Adventurers League. Later printings and digital versions paralleled distribution strategies used by DriveThruRPG and Roll20-integrated offerings.
Critical reception compared Starfinder to Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, praising its fusion of genres and critiquing its learning curve relative to Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition and Pathfinder Second Edition. Reviewers referenced trends traced to Tabletop RPG renaissance and impacts on indie designers alongside influences from science fiction literature such as Asimov, Heinlein, and Le Guin. The game's legacy includes influencing subsequent science-fantasy RPGs and cross-media adaptations resembling licensed efforts by Hasbro and Lucasfilm collaborators, as well as sustaining a community-driven ecosystem akin to PaizoCon and fan content hubs like Reddit and EN World.
Category:Role-playing games