History TabletopGame / Starfinder

''Starfinder'' is a ScienceFantasy RPG by Paizo Publishing, the creators of ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}''. As you can guess by the title, yes it is, essentially[[note]]and setting-wise, literally[[/note]], ''Pathfinder''... [[RecycledInSpace IN SPAAAAACE!]]

* EasilyConqueredWorld: {{Justified}}. The Vesk landed on the Skittermander homeworld prepared to engage in a brutal and long military conflict. Much to their surprise, the Skittermanders helped them conquer their own planet as it is implied they are genetically predisposed to help ANY sentient species. Comically, many Skittermanders later became administrators for the Vesk empire because [[KlingonScientistsGetNoRespect that is a job most Vesk hate]], leading to a "who conquered whom?" situation.

* HumongousMecha: Mechs are immense robots that combine armour, agility and firepower into a devastating package piloted by one or more operators. They represent powerful tools for PCs to confront far mightier foes than they could unaided.

* ShoutOut: Alien Archive 3 has a section on Animal Companions. One of the pictures is a container holding several young members of a canine-like race that shoots beams from their mouths... that is to say, [[WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil a box of laser puppies]].

* LivingGhost: Khulans are a variety of incorporeal fey that tend to the molten cores of planets, often mistaken for ghosts.

* MassiveRaceSelection: Paizo has stated that they want to take the "Cantina Approach" to races in ''Starfinder'', referencing the scenes in the various ''Star Wars'' movies, most notably ''Film/ANewHope'', where the heroes enter a bar or similar establishment & the camera focuses on dozens of different alien patrons. Paizo wanted to create scenes like that where almost any alien race seen could be playable. Less than a year after release, they'd made good progress with that; with 13 playable races in the core rulebook, 22 in the first Alien Archive, 6 in the Pact Worlds source book, and several more over the first Adventure Path as well as early society modules, with more to come. On top of that, the definition of what can be a playable race is expanded, with many creatures listed as Monsters in ''Pathfinder'' now available. This includes StarfishAliens, certain Dragons, and even intelligent [[BlobMonster Oozes]].

* PromotedToPlayable: The list of unplayable races in ''Pathfinder'' that became playable in ''Starfinder'' include contemplatives, barathus, dragonkin, formian warriors, grays, shobhads, witchwyrds (who were statted as monsters in ''Pathfinder''), ikeshtis, kalo, sarcesians and verthani (who didn't have stats in ''Pathfinder'' at all).

Like ''Pathfinder'', ''Starfinder'' features a core book line, adventure paths, and an organized play program. This system is also planned to get a ''[[https://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo6sidk Second Edition]]'' like its FantasyKitchenSink brother.

Officially released Adventure Paths:

!!''Starfinder'' provides examples of:

''Starfinder'' is a ScienceFantasy RPG by Paizo Publishing, the creators of ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}''. Yes, as you can guess by the title it is, essentially[[note]]and setting-wise, literally[[/note]], ''Pathfinder''... [[RecycledInSpace IN SPAAAAACE!]]

Like ''Pathfinder'', ''Starfinder'' features a core book line, adventure paths, and an organized play program. This system is also planned to get a ''[[https://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo6sidk Second Edition]]'' like its HighFantasy brother.

''Starfinder'' is a ScienceFantasy RPG by Paizo Publishing, the creators of ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}''. Yes, it is, essentially[[note]]and setting-wise, literally[[/note]], Pathfinder... [[RecycledInSpace IN SPAAAAACE!]]

Other civilizations have not been idle in the unknown number of years between ''Pathfinder'' and the present, with androids, lashunta, ratfolk (now called ysoki), and kasatha from ''Pathfinder'' joining humans and two new alien races, the reptilian vesk and insectile shirren, as core races. Of course, if you want to be an [[SpaceElves elf]], dwarf, half-orc or halfing IN SPACE, it gives options for those as well.

Like ''Pathfinder'', ''Starfinder'' features a core book line, adventure paths, and an organized play program.

Other civilizations have not been idle in the unknown number of years between ''Pathfinder'' and the present, with androids, lashunta, ratfolk (now called ysoki), and kasatha from ''Pathfinder'' joining humans and two new alien races, the reptilian vesk and insectile shirren, as core races. Of course, if you want to be an [[SpaceElves elf]], dwarf, half-oOrc or halfing IN SPACE, it gives options for those as well.

** The AI god Triune gave the entire galaxy the means to produce a Drift Engine, a cheap and efficient means of faster-than-light travel, and it's now possible to travel the width of the galaxy in a matter of months. However, [[HyperspaceIsAScaryPlace Drift Space]] isn't empty. Every time a Drift Engine is fired up, a portion of another plane of reality is sucked into the Drift, meaning travelers in the Drift could run into ''literally'' anything. This allows adventurers to go wherever they want, but there will always be a chance for RandomEncounters.

** In a meta example: the first ''Starfinder'' Adventure Path began with the adventure titled "Incident at Absalom Station," which, true to form, happens entirely on Absalom Station, or in the vicinity of it.

* HyperspaceLanes: Drift lanes are introduced in ''Drift Crisis'' as a potential resolution to the titular Crisis, [[spoiler:and made canon at the end of the ''Drift Hackers'' AP.]] Travel through Drift lanes always takes seven days divided by the rating of the ship's Drift engines rather than 3d6 or 5d6 days.

* TechnologyErasureEvent: In the ''Drift Crash'' sourcebook and the associated Adventure Paths ''Drift Crashers'' and ''Drift Hackers'', the Drift, the most reliable and fastest method for FasterThanLightTravel for the past 300 years, temporarily stops working. It quickly comes back, but travel times are doubled and it's filled with rifts into other planes until the conclusion of ''Drift Hackers''.

* TokenEvilTeammate: For the Pact Worlds, there would be both Eox (whose inhabitants are mostly TheUndead, usually with the characteristic tendencies for evil alignments) and Aucturn (replace "undead" with "{{Eldritch Abomination}}s").

* CreditChip: Most people load the credits they need for daily use onto "credsticks", which also allow the PC's to continue the long-standing tradition of [[MoneySpider looting the bodies]]; this is ironically justified in-universe because it's ''less'' of a loss to have your credstick stolen than having full access to your bank account swiped. Plus, they can be used for black-market transactions.

* CuttingOffTheBranches: The ''Iron Gods'' adventure path in ''Pathfinder'' potentially ended with the PC's ally Casandalee ascending to godhood instead of the BigBad. ''Starfinder'' makes this official with her as one of the three machine gods that make up Triune.

** The actual planet Earth (which was established in Pathfinder to exist in the setting) hasn't been mentioned one way or another. (A close look at the racial picture of the Androids in the core rulebook shows a holographic Earth, but whether this is hinting at anything or just decoration is anyone's guess.)

* GenderNeutralWriting:
** Iseph, the iconic operative, is an android who lacks a gender identity(a sentiment not that uncommon among Androids). "They" is Iseph's preferred pronoun.
** Shirren of [[BizarreAlienSexes the third gender (host)]] also usually seem to prefer "they" as a pronoun when speaking in common.
** The seven-sexed maraquoi, as species, also seem to default to singular "they."

Other civilizations have not been idle in the unknown number of years between ''Pathfinder'' and the present, with Androids, Lashunta, Ratfolk (now called the Ysoki), and Kasatha from ''Pathfinder'' joining Humans and two new alien races, the reptilian Vesk and insectile Shirren, as core races. Of course, if you want to be an [[SpaceElves Elf]], Dwarf, Half-Orc or Halfing IN SPACE, it gives options for those as well.

* ''TabletopGame/DeadSunsStarfinder''
* ''Against the Aeon Throne''
* ''Signal of Screams''
* ''Dawn of Flame''
* ''Attack of the Swarm!''
* ''The Threefold Conspiracy''
* ''TabletopGame/{{Fly Free or Die|Starfinder}}''

* HumongousMecha: Examples and rules appear in "Tech Revolution".

* ScienceFantasy: As explained above, this is the same universe that Pathfinder took place in, set many thousands of years into the future. Which means that many of the rules and tropes that apply to a StandardFantasySetting also apply to this universe of spaceships and laser guns. This includes:
** Angels and demons equipped with {{powered armor}} [[EnergyWeapon and laser rifles]];
** [[TheFairFolk Fey creatures]] that are the embodiment of nuclear radiation, asteroids, and the vacuum of space;
** [[TheUndead Undead creatures]] brought into being by the trauma of suffocating in the void or of being marooned in space with no hope of survival.

* TabletopGame/DeadSunsStarfinder
* Against the Aeon Throne
* Signal of Screams
* Dawn of Flame
* Attack of the Swarm!
* The Threefold Conspiracy
* TabletopGame/{{Fly Free Or Die|Starfinder}}

* EnemyMine: In the very recent history of the Pact Worlds, the Veskarium and the Pact Worlds were at war with each other until The Swarm arrived to attack both. The uneasy truce that developed between the two to fight off The Swarm currently holds, but both sides are distrustful of each other.

** Shirren of [[BizarreAlienSexes the third gender (host)]] also seem to prefer "they" as a pronoun when speaking in common.