Even better for those of us local to Miniature Market who can pick-up orders with no shipping charge (without a spending minimum). And extra nice when you have a gamer in your group whose husband works there and can pick up orders for you! (yes I'm spoiled). Thanks for another very informative video. We're starting our campaign Monday (I'm the GM) and I cannot wait - your videos have amped up my excitement even further than it already was after playing it at GenCon.
Sorry to be offtopic but does any of you know a method to get back into an instagram account?? I was stupid lost my password. I love any tricks you can give me.
@Russell Kasen thanks so much for your reply. I found the site on google and Im waiting for the hacking stuff now. Seems to take a while so I will get back to you later with my results.
After 6 years your guide to Starfinder series remains one of the most popular and comprehensive guides to understanding Starfinder as a whole. You've made great work and I only hope you come back and revisit the system one day now that several more books have been added. Cheers!
DM in 2023 here, just wanted to say thank you. I'm just starting a sci-fi campaign and I'm learning Starfinder to run it, and your video helped simplify the new rules for me immensely. I feel a lot more confident now explaining the rules to my players, great vid!
I think Starfinder is going to be really fun. As someone who started out with 5E I don't have much experience with older editions of DnD but what I have seen from looking through rule books etc. is that the older editions definitely tried too hard to be simulations without going all the way and ended up in an odd place. That being said, while I like 5E I think that a game that has its streamlining with some more crunch would be great and I think Starfinder is that game.
It's almost cyclical. I mean, 5e was SO SO strikingly different in being rules-light. But the 20 years before that, we had much crunchier systems to play in. I still love 5e, but I am definitely ready for some variance in my characters.
I always envision Princess Vespa from Spaceballs saying, "My Hair! He shot my hair!" It's a punch in the shoulder from a buddy, but not the punch in the leg from that guy who is trying to Charlie horse you
I'll be playing my first Starfinder game next month and appreciate your video to help me not feel like such a newb. I never played Pathfinder, but am a D&D 5e player/dm.
I know I am late to the party for both this game and this video, but the Stamina/Hit Points and the EAC/KAC reminds me a lot to how Champions (and the hero system) did things. I that system they had Stun/Body and PD/ED (physical defense/energy defense). It makes it easy for me to wrap my head around what Starfinder is doing.
I just started my first starfinder game after six years of not playing since doing a year of pathfinder first edition. The gameplay is so familiar I'm picking it up right away and it feels just that fun sci fi . That I always wanted to try.
I picked up Starfinder since I'm a fan of both Pathfinder and 5e and your videos have been informative and I've enjoyed much of the system. Now subscribed
A.L. Miller ugh, Bulk is such a lazy way to do encumbrance. Might as well drop it all together and let characters carry anything (Starship in my backpack, don't worry we ignore encumbrance in our game). Do or do not, bulk is sad.
@@hrayz As someone whose experience outside of 5e has been exclusively games that don't track encumbrance like Call of Cthulu and Mutants and Masterminds, I really do believe that encumbrance adds a lot to a game in terms of not only tone and realism, but also in game balance. And the main problem I have with 5e's encumbrance system is how finicky and complex it can be, so a system like this is ideal in my eyes. Simple, easy, and yet still grounded enough to be believed.
Cody I've watched a lot of your Starfinder week material, very solid and informative... I have the Starfinder core rule book and can't wait to start a campaign! I've played in a Starfinder Society event at a local convention and I agree that SF has a lot of promise. Props and kudos. Bomonro
I came into your channel for Roll20 advice and tips... but this starfinder stuff is really drawing me in. I like how well you explain things - I've never really played Pathfinder - but I'm finding the Starfinder stuff very compelling. Keep up the good work, man.
Just got the starfinder core rulebook, and I'm super excited to play. I'm big into 5e, and this seems like a really cool new system! I'm not switching over from 5e, but I'm hoping this will become a second game I can play with my friends.
I really like the themes myself. It makes it super easy to mix flavour and abilities, and they have much more of both than most traits. The stamina system is a close second for me.
First Taking20 video I've ever watched. Expected to turn it off after a couple minutes because I saw it was a dude talking to a camera like any other vlog. I was wrong. None of that insufferable, "hit that like button, fam" pander we see everywhere else on TH-cam. Very informative and made me feel more confident leading our Pathfinder group into our first ever Starfinder game. Have subscribed, have liked. Good video. Highly recommend to anyone looking into Starfinder.
Really looking forward to running my own Starfinder campaign soon. Have a group of players, some new some experienced, and I hope we can all get into the game world and have a great time. Been playing Pathfinder for years, so the familiarity is welcome. Enjoying your SF videos so far. Keep em coming.
I'm coming from 5e having only ever played 5e. Starfinder is incredibly dense and rule heavy, but it does focus on character customization which I appreciate so I am excited to try.
dont have a group yet but i picked up starfinder TODAY and am planning on DMing for the first time with it. I love sci-fi so much im so excited, i hope i can find people haha
Great videos! I appreciate how succinctly you hit the important points. Other people I generally like have a tendency to verbally meander around for too long before actually getting to the information I'm listening for. I haven't played Starfinder yet, but I'm about to join a game and I'm trying to figure out as much as I can before I start investing in it. I'm proceeding to watch the rest of your Starfinder videos now.
I'm taking notes on note cards for the sake of sanity. It has been several months since I first started GMing or playing Starfinder. I'm going to watch these videos for the second time around.
Thomas Coull ugh, Bulk is such a lazy way to do encumbrance. Might as well drop it all together and let characters carry anything (Starship in my backpack, don't worry we ignore encumbrance in our game). Do or do not, bulk is sad.
I dunno, I feel like it's just much easier than tracking encumberance, and to not track encumberance at all is a different style of play. I tend to use it because fully tracking weight and such is a pain in the ass that nobody cares about but with bulk, it's simple enough that it can be tracked to make people think more about what is in their inventory.
Great to see more Starfinder vids starting to come out. It's such an improvement from Pathfinder that I'm prepping it as my next campaign as soon as my 5e one ends in the next month or so.
Cody, great video! I agree completely about the "crunchiness" of Starfinder. I've been running 5e for a little over 2 years now and within the first hour of having my copy of the starfinder core rulebook i thought to myself, "Yes! there is so much meat to this system!" It is definitely one of the things that i REALLY like about the game. It reminds me a lot of my AD&D 2nd edition days with all of the expanded rules and systems for just about anything that you could imagine doing.
Might I just say, thank you for this video. I have been playing the series of D&D and pathfinder for more then a decade. I've been waiting for a Sci fantasy game like this since these first time I played Spell jammer. Thank you for letting me know of this game's existence. And also for a not boring information video. 👍👍👍
Tldr: Species only makes more sense if they can’t have kids that are capable of reproduction like a Liger being infertile. Sorta? With sci-fi, yeah, but fantasy overall race makes more since cause race implies convergent evolution and that fertile offsprings are possible between different groups. Different races are things like Asian, African, Caucasian, etc. very slight differences and different appearance, but majorly the same where it counts and able to produce fertile offsprings (baring anomaly and mutation related issues) Like in dnd how a human and an elf can make a half elf. They’re “species” is technically Humanoid, but they’re different races since there’s clear biological differences. Think Ligers vs Half Elves. A liger is a mix of 2 cats, lion and tiger. They’re different species but same family, so they can breed just not produce an offspring that can continue the generations. A half elf can have kids with a human, elf, half elf, or any of the other Humanoid races of the fantasy ttrpg verse, most of the time.
@@starking2162 if 2 species cross breed, it’d still be a new *species*. Also you meant ethnicity, race is a spoken language whereas ethnicity is determined by heritage. Race = verbal Ethnicity = somatic Another reason to change the categorization of race to species.
Something he didn't even mention is that the ability score point but system got reworked, and I Love it! They also have several alternate ways of doing it so you can find one to fit your tastes.
I like most of these changes. My biggest issue with pathfinder has always been that there is just to much number crunch or options that are mechanical. Of course that is partly because I am just not into power gaming or being a rule lawyer and so on. These changes sound a lot like many of the things that 5th did for DnD. I like 5th a lot more than pathfinder after having now played both for years. Changes to combat are a big one for me like removing 5ft steps and letting people move before and after an action. Or even better the changes to things like grapple. Thanks for this video, when I first saw Starfinder ads I thought it was just a pathfinder version of spelljammer but now I think I may give it more of my time.
As someone who's coming from D&D 3.5 & who has dabbled a little into Rifts, and 5e (but didn't like 5e due to lack of variety). I originally was worried about Starfinder especially after hearing about the lack of lvl 7+ spells, and spellcasters sharing similar spells. I'm not too worried now, in fact I like it after studying the book for a few days and just getting to the equipment section of the book. I like how they simplified the skills, and feats. Seriously all the skills that a rogue used in 3.5 have been put into 1 or 2 different skills in Starfinder. So now a person who wants to play a roguish character can do it without worrying about how many points they will have to dump into their other skills to be useful to the party. I don't agree with all the skills though like only those trained in sleight of hand can use it to be a little silly. Seriously anyone can do it, but not everyone can do it convincingly...So I would make the player have a penalty on rolling it untrained. I also heard they simplified some things you can do in combat like grappling others. The encumbrance system, and money system is much nicer now that I don't have to worry about the weight of gold (though many of the gms I played with ignore that system.)
@Streamway Project I charged straight ahead with the homebrew when I GM'd back around the time Starfinder first came to shelves. You basically just have to figure out what you absolutely need to happen in your setting, then figure out what parts of Starfinder supports those things... ... Ask yourself the necessary questions. What weapon is like this weapon in my setting? What spell is like this spell in my setting? Would this planet in my setting be better as low gravity, or as a space station instead of a planet? You basically have to do the work, and you may come across methods to build planets and ships in a more streamlined manner. Make the proper comparisons from your setting to Starfinder's rules, and you should find your comfort zone. Heck, one dude at my LGS wants a completely homebrewed setting of Spaceballs to play in as a PC. I have half a mind to run a wacky grim-dark as a part Star Trek, part DOOM, and part Borderlands campaign, with just a tiny spritz of Warhammer 40k, but not too much. One of my players in a hopefully upcoming campaign has a lot more comfort with Shadowrun and DnD, so I'm of the mind homebrewery can come to the rescue for the sake of enjoyment.
Loveing the Starfinder system.. Sorry i missed you at GenCon..First year i have missed sence it came to Indiana (my home state).. Thanks for the videos Cody.. Gonna possibly run an online game with some friends very soon!!
I really enjoyed and appreciated this review. My one critique is that this really feels like a cheerleader report with no critique. No actual player has NO critiques. Not that anyone on this channel is going to see this so long after the posting. :)
So I realized you've probably put this system down for a while, but I was wondering if you could give us a walkthrough of how you as a GM would run a dog fight in Starfinder.
Running a 1 shot starfinder and appreciate the video, although it certainly backs up why I couldn't play pathfinder. I do disagree that 5e is a light system. It's medium weight if i was to give it a board game. I'd probably say Cypher or Fate would be light systems, pathfinder medium heavy, and palladium heavy. For those who think 5e is light, definitely play other systems. I love the rules cleanups but until they fixed the hat skill system its cumbersome. I'd rather have 40 skills that i choose from as primarily and secondary skills than do accounting to appease the illusion of choice. I know that maximizing skills are necessary, so why make me do so much adding. The weight of the system though truly comes down to how much illusion of choice you want to give the player versus how much time u want them to put into that illusion of choice. Take the skill system. A robust skill system like pathfinder must constantly progress skill checks to match optimal pc level skills to keep up with balance. Whereas a system like dnd uses static skill sets that upgrade slower. In essence, these are the same two systems with a less emphasis on the illusion of choice given in dnd. In both games u choose to upgrade specific skills that are needed and those skills receive bonuses as you move along. Then take a system and compare this to a system like rift, where you can have degradation of skills as you level. This adds an additional layer of balance needed to maintain. I have a routine 5e game wiht two rangers, who couldn't be two different skilled, feated and ability characters. One a solemn long range killer who enjoys his targets to be injured for more damage versus the loudmouthed shooter who likes uninjured targets and also dabbles his some sword play. This is contrasted by the nature loving ranger. I've yet to see players "play" the same character in a game
very good information and great video thanks for the updates needed this for a quick start for a game that we decided to move over from pathfinder i will say that when i first looked at starfinder it seemed very familiar of the old WOTC Star wars rpg now it seems familiar but very different.
just if you did not know ... weapon specialization applies to 1 type of weapon you are proficient with ... to have it with all weapon you are proficient with you need VERSATILE SPECIALIZATION ... but still a great review !!!!
played Starfinder for the first time on sunday at a store and i had no idea of how to play your videos help out a lot thank you i love the game so far and im playing as a Human Solarian
Man! I wish you'd play FFG's Genesys Android: Shadow of the Beanstalk. The book can sure use fan-support, the kind that you deliver in very pleasant fashion. Good job!
Thank you for tell.me how bulk work. I was using strength modifier and I was getting very small number. Now I am using the strength score make huge difference lol duh. Thank for making the video keep them coming.
Sorry if I have the wrong video, but I think it's mentioned that size no longer effects AC of characters. On page 409, Table 11-12 they have a chart of Size and Armor Class of objects, that seems traditional (+1 for small objects). Would that not apply to small characters too, unless they specifically say it doesn't? Thanks :)
I love bulk and I love credsticks, as a DM It makes bookkeeping SIGNIFICANTLY easier IOM, in addition I love the setting to pieces and as somebody who started out in pathfinder before transitioning to 5e, I'm glad to see a good balance struck between D&D's simplicity, and Pathfinder's depth. Still salty over lack of a bestiary included in the Core Rulebook but cest las vie.
To lift the issue with the Resolve Points and Race/Class-Combination I would houserule the following: For the calculation of the Resolve Points, the Racial Bonus is applied to the Key Ability of the Class. That way, I think, no combination is hampered when you find a certain race with an "unfitting" class appealing and should (in theory) give a higher chance to see different combinations of races and classes.
The way I was houseruling it is that your key ability score is always your highest ability score. That way you're punished less for trying to do something different. I like the way racial modifiers and point-buy work as is, because even if you have a -2 racial modifier to an important stat to your character, it is in fact possible to still get an 18 in it at level 1.
This is the very best table top game I've ever seen. This game is fucking amazing. Better than D&D. Better than Pathfinder. As good as warhammer but tons cheaper.
While your series is exceptional, I have to STRONGLY disagree with you on one point. Character themes are not "purely mechanical" . They bring depth to a character and can fill in weaknesses, or bolster strengths. Take Ace pilot, treating half of your ranks in piloting as ranks in whatever skill you need during space combat is huge and allows you to put skills in other places if you wish. Priests get a Mystic spell, (never bad and very good if you choose wisely), scholars free knowledge rerolls, Spacefarers can make knowledge rolls untrained, etc. I think you missed the value in themes. Good series otherwise though. I subscribed and look forward to seeing more of your videos.
When compared to 5e Backgrounds, which add flaws, bonds, etc... you can see how 93% of text dedicated to each page on themes is literally mechanical things that happen in game. Whereas 5e, will add RP aspects.
Fair enough. Still our mechanic considers himself a Bounty Hunter first and introduces himself as such. Our Envoy refers to herself a priest of the Black Butterfly not an Envoy. I think it can influence your character choices if you choose to roleplay it that way. Still this mainly Pathfinder player gets your point about 5e. Thanks for the response.
@@woodyelliott307 This is why I say that DnD (and it's offshoots) is not really a role-playing game. It's a wargame that someone could role-play with if they wanted to. Same thing with Monopoly. I could put a monocle in my eye and talk like a rich old guy as I tell someone they owe me rent, but that doesn't make Monopoly a role-playing game. Mechanically, most D20 systems are just a combat game that someone could decide to roleplay with if they wanted to. Other modern games integrate the mechanics more into character, themes, rewards, and storytelling elements. That's not a criticism (I've had great D20 roleplay experiences) - just something to be aware of.
I'd love a video on the starfinder setting. I know there's a lot of room for homebrew stuff, but I'd like to hear about established factions/powers, interesting planet systems, etc...
Overall it is looking very good............. the only problem I have is the cramming of multiple habitable planets/moons into the same star system, the vast majority of which would be outside the 'goldilocks' region of the system - so I've simply moved all except Absalom Station to multiple neighbouring star systems, the core system still has multiple planetoids but other than artificial habitats (satellites & small enclosed bases) none are habitable now that the homeworld has disappeared :-)
This is all well and good but I mean, in a world filled with actual deities that bestowed knowledge of how to make interstellar spaceship engines, with magic and alien races including "four armed human" (not possible anatomically, or at least extremely unlikely), insect man that's bipedal for some reason, human coloured differently and who could forget, Lizardman and Mouse Boi, I don't think having planets be habitable even outside the "goldilocks" zone is a big stretch all things considered.
HOLY SHIT I am so happy about the Bulk thing as an EU player its always such a drag to calculate the lb since I am not at all familiar with it. Bulk makes that way simpler for everyone
Leronos ugh, Bulk is such a lazy way to do encumbrance. Might as well drop it all together and let characters carry anything (Starship in my backpack, don't worry we ignore encumbrance in our game). Do or do not, bulk is sad.
Well I rather have bulk as a DM then to check every Character of my 8 Man friend crew if they are honest and so on :) But hey lets do it the old way. Oh what is taht the first goblin u kill gave you a bag of holding guess what mechanic is no longer relevant
I know this is a 5yo video, but just picked up the paperback book of Starfinder at a gaming store for $20. I GM for D&D 5e, and was really not impressed so much by Spelljammer for 5E. A lot of mechanics for ship combat, etc. that I can adapt to my 5E campaign (somehow we ended up in space pursuing Mindflayers!)--so thanks for the intro videos.
GRAB YOUR STARFINDER DISCOUNTS HERE!
miniaturemarket.com/starfinder
Join the Taking20 Community!
bit.ly/Taking20Community
Join the Taking20 Discord Server!
bit.ly/Taking20Discord
I grabbed the pawns from miniature market. they were cheap, and i got them in the same week. Great Site! Thanks for the hookup with them!
Even better for those of us local to Miniature Market who can pick-up orders with no shipping charge (without a spending minimum). And extra nice when you have a gamer in your group whose husband works there and can pick up orders for you! (yes I'm spoiled). Thanks for another very informative video. We're starting our campaign Monday (I'm the GM) and I cannot wait - your videos have amped up my excitement even further than it already was after playing it at GenCon.
Sorry to be offtopic but does any of you know a method to get back into an instagram account??
I was stupid lost my password. I love any tricks you can give me.
@Grant Owen instablaster =)
@Russell Kasen thanks so much for your reply. I found the site on google and Im waiting for the hacking stuff now.
Seems to take a while so I will get back to you later with my results.
"Hmm, I have a Starfinder question. I'll just message Owen." Must be nice! lol
Ya, well... I guess that is a luxury huh...
My life has gotten so strange since I started Taking20.
Cody, you’re one of the realest and most enthusiastic people on TH-cam, love everything you do you charismatic phenomenal storyteller, keep it up man!
After 6 years your guide to Starfinder series remains one of the most popular and comprehensive guides to understanding Starfinder as a whole. You've made great work and I only hope you come back and revisit the system one day now that several more books have been added. Cheers!
DM in 2023 here, just wanted to say thank you. I'm just starting a sci-fi campaign and I'm learning Starfinder to run it, and your video helped simplify the new rules for me immensely. I feel a lot more confident now explaining the rules to my players, great vid!
I love your DnD stuff; playing Starfinder for first time, so super thankful for this overview/intro -- thanks!!!
I think Starfinder is going to be really fun. As someone who started out with 5E I don't have much experience with older editions of DnD but what I have seen from looking through rule books etc. is that the older editions definitely tried too hard to be simulations without going all the way and ended up in an odd place. That being said, while I like 5E I think that a game that has its streamlining with some more crunch would be great and I think Starfinder is that game.
It's almost cyclical. I mean, 5e was SO SO strikingly different in being rules-light. But the 20 years before that, we had much crunchier systems to play in. I still love 5e, but I am definitely ready for some variance in my characters.
My group has played 2 sessions so far and we are loving it.
i would say stamina is basically a shield like in borderlands with out recharge
I always envision Princess Vespa from Spaceballs saying, "My Hair! He shot my hair!" It's a punch in the shoulder from a buddy, but not the punch in the leg from that guy who is trying to Charlie horse you
Great way to put it
Also works with Apex Legends
I'll be playing my first Starfinder game next month and appreciate your video to help me not feel like such a newb. I never played Pathfinder, but am a D&D 5e player/dm.
I know I am late to the party for both this game and this video, but the Stamina/Hit Points and the EAC/KAC reminds me a lot to how Champions (and the hero system) did things. I that system they had Stun/Body and PD/ED (physical defense/energy defense). It makes it easy for me to wrap my head around what Starfinder is doing.
Not too late at all. I'm getting ready for my first game!
I just started my first starfinder game after six years of not playing since doing a year of pathfinder first edition. The gameplay is so familiar I'm picking it up right away and it feels just that fun sci fi . That I always wanted to try.
Playing my first Starfinder game tonight! Glad I decided to watch your videos. They're ahuge help!
I picked up Starfinder since I'm a fan of both Pathfinder and 5e and your videos have been informative and I've enjoyed much of the system. Now subscribed
HP & Stamina sound like a cleaner version of HP & SDC from Palladium's Rifts
A.L. Miller Exactly what I was thinking!
I love the Bulk mechanic nice and easy. Thanks a gain for good info on this game. I never played pathfinder so watching this has been a big help.
A.L. Miller ugh, Bulk is such a lazy way to do encumbrance. Might as well drop it all together and let characters carry anything (Starship in my backpack, don't worry we ignore encumbrance in our game). Do or do not, bulk is sad.
@@hrayz As someone whose experience outside of 5e has been exclusively games that don't track encumbrance like Call of Cthulu and Mutants and Masterminds, I really do believe that encumbrance adds a lot to a game in terms of not only tone and realism, but also in game balance. And the main problem I have with 5e's encumbrance system is how finicky and complex it can be, so a system like this is ideal in my eyes. Simple, easy, and yet still grounded enough to be believed.
Cody I've watched a lot of your Starfinder week material, very solid and informative... I have the Starfinder core rule book and can't wait to start a campaign! I've played in a Starfinder Society event at a local convention and I agree that SF has a lot of promise. Props and kudos. Bomonro
I came into your channel for Roll20 advice and tips... but this starfinder stuff is really drawing me in. I like how well you explain things - I've never really played Pathfinder - but I'm finding the Starfinder stuff very compelling. Keep up the good work, man.
Thanks Dan!
Just got the starfinder core rulebook, and I'm super excited to play. I'm big into 5e, and this seems like a really cool new system! I'm not switching over from 5e, but I'm hoping this will become a second game I can play with my friends.
Super useful, our GM reccomended this for the newer players and I'm glad he did
I really like the themes myself.
It makes it super easy to mix flavour and abilities, and they have much more of both than most traits.
The stamina system is a close second for me.
First Taking20 video I've ever watched. Expected to turn it off after a couple minutes because I saw it was a dude talking to a camera like any other vlog. I was wrong. None of that insufferable, "hit that like button, fam" pander we see everywhere else on TH-cam. Very informative and made me feel more confident leading our Pathfinder group into our first ever Starfinder game. Have subscribed, have liked. Good video. Highly recommend to anyone looking into Starfinder.
Really looking forward to running my own Starfinder campaign soon. Have a group of players, some new some experienced, and I hope we can all get into the game world and have a great time. Been playing Pathfinder for years, so the familiarity is welcome. Enjoying your SF videos so far. Keep em coming.
This is my first time being here, and I love roleplaying games just as much as you do.
Cant wait to start running starfinder with my friends.
I'm coming from 5e having only ever played 5e. Starfinder is incredibly dense and rule heavy, but it does focus on character customization which I appreciate so I am excited to try.
Thanks for this! Solid info for a quick start in Starfinder!
dont have a group yet but i picked up starfinder TODAY and am planning on DMing for the first time with it. I love sci-fi so much im so excited, i hope i can find people haha
Great videos! I appreciate how succinctly you hit the important points. Other people I generally like have a tendency to verbally meander around for too long before actually getting to the information I'm listening for.
I haven't played Starfinder yet, but I'm about to join a game and I'm trying to figure out as much as I can before I start investing in it. I'm proceeding to watch the rest of your Starfinder videos now.
Been GMing Starfinder. I love it. Clean pathfinder IN SPACE
I'm taking notes on note cards for the sake of sanity. It has been several months since I first started GMing or playing Starfinder. I'm going to watch these videos for the second time around.
What a great video topic for players trying to get into the game. Kudos!
Bulk/weight system sounds so much better. This video as well was great, thank you, gotten me hyped for starfinder :D
Thomas Coull ugh, Bulk is such a lazy way to do encumbrance. Might as well drop it all together and let characters carry anything (Starship in my backpack, don't worry we ignore encumbrance in our game). Do or do not, bulk is sad.
I dunno, I feel like it's just much easier than tracking encumberance, and to not track encumberance at all is a different style of play. I tend to use it because fully tracking weight and such is a pain in the ass that nobody cares about but with bulk, it's simple enough that it can be tracked to make people think more about what is in their inventory.
Great to see more Starfinder vids starting to come out. It's such an improvement from Pathfinder that I'm prepping it as my next campaign as soon as my 5e one ends in the next month or so.
I appreciate that you ad for Miniature Market... they are great!
Sounds like a unique setting. Some of the rule changes sound appealing to me too.
Cody, great video! I agree completely about the "crunchiness" of Starfinder. I've been running 5e for a little over 2 years now and within the first hour of having my copy of the starfinder core rulebook i thought to myself, "Yes! there is so much meat to this system!" It is definitely one of the things that i REALLY like about the game. It reminds me a lot of my AD&D 2nd edition days with all of the expanded rules and systems for just about anything that you could imagine doing.
Space wizards and lahzor ninjas
Insta like!
Thanks Cody for the chuckle💗
Might I just say, thank you for this video. I have been playing the series of D&D and pathfinder for more then a decade. I've been waiting for a Sci fantasy game like this since these first time I played Spell jammer. Thank you for letting me know of this game's existence. And also for a not boring information video. 👍👍👍
Another Great Job! Keep the Starfinder vids coming!
13 more coming at least.
thanks for this video, its really easy to understand the main differences now :D.
great video! Just made characters yesterday, can't wait to play next weekend!
Such an amazing channel!
I really like how you explain the concepts. Now, you have a new subscriber :-)
Thanks for making this video man! It's a big help to get started, appreciate ya!
Thank you so much for the starfinder content, please keep em coming!!!
I am completely new to tabletop gaming so I am really thankful for all the info. I am thinking of purchasing Starfinder it looks really kool.
When you where going over the bulk rules I thought back to my ysoki explosives expert with cheeks full of grenades!
I still think they missed a chance at renaming "Race" to "Species", would of fit the overall vibe a little batter just saying 😝
agreed!
Dont be a fag
Wish granted...
Tldr: Species only makes more sense if they can’t have kids that are capable of reproduction like a Liger being infertile.
Sorta? With sci-fi, yeah, but fantasy overall race makes more since cause race implies convergent evolution and that fertile offsprings are possible between different groups. Different races are things like Asian, African, Caucasian, etc. very slight differences and different appearance, but majorly the same where it counts and able to produce fertile offsprings (baring anomaly and mutation related issues)
Like in dnd how a human and an elf can make a half elf. They’re “species” is technically Humanoid, but they’re different races since there’s clear biological differences. Think Ligers vs Half Elves. A liger is a mix of 2 cats, lion and tiger. They’re different species but same family, so they can breed just not produce an offspring that can continue the generations. A half elf can have kids with a human, elf, half elf, or any of the other Humanoid races of the fantasy ttrpg verse, most of the time.
@@starking2162 if 2 species cross breed, it’d still be a new *species*. Also you meant ethnicity, race is a spoken language whereas ethnicity is determined by heritage.
Race = verbal
Ethnicity = somatic
Another reason to change the categorization of race to species.
Something he didn't even mention is that the ability score point but system got reworked, and I Love it! They also have several alternate ways of doing it so you can find one to fit your tastes.
I like most of these changes. My biggest issue with pathfinder has always been that there is just to much number crunch or options that are mechanical. Of course that is partly because I am just not into power gaming or being a rule lawyer and so on. These changes sound a lot like many of the things that 5th did for DnD. I like 5th a lot more than pathfinder after having now played both for years. Changes to combat are a big one for me like removing 5ft steps and letting people move before and after an action. Or even better the changes to things like grapple.
Thanks for this video, when I first saw Starfinder ads I thought it was just a pathfinder version of spelljammer but now I think I may give it more of my time.
As someone who's coming from D&D 3.5 & who has dabbled a little into Rifts, and 5e (but didn't like 5e due to lack of variety). I originally was worried about Starfinder especially after hearing about the lack of lvl 7+ spells, and spellcasters sharing similar spells. I'm not too worried now, in fact I like it after studying the book for a few days and just getting to the equipment section of the book. I like how they simplified the skills, and feats. Seriously all the skills that a rogue used in 3.5 have been put into 1 or 2 different skills in Starfinder. So now a person who wants to play a roguish character can do it without worrying about how many points they will have to dump into their other skills to be useful to the party. I don't agree with all the skills though like only those trained in sleight of hand can use it to be a little silly. Seriously anyone can do it, but not everyone can do it convincingly...So I would make the player have a penalty on rolling it untrained. I also heard they simplified some things you can do in combat like grappling others. The encumbrance system, and money system is much nicer now that I don't have to worry about the weight of gold (though many of the gms I played with ignore that system.)
2:15 That one must've been a hit cause we all playing that one now
Clear, informative, low on fluff. Great video.
Tell miniature market because of you they made almost 1k off of me in the last year. Well done. 😁
I know this is an old video, but I was wondering: is Starfinder as easily adaptable to a homebrew setting as D&D 5e?
I havent played yet, but from reading the book i assume it would be easy to ignore the official setting
@Streamway Project
I charged straight ahead with the homebrew when I GM'd back around the time Starfinder first came to shelves. You basically just have to figure out what you absolutely need to happen in your setting, then figure out what parts of Starfinder supports those things...
...
Ask yourself the necessary questions.
What weapon is like this weapon in my setting?
What spell is like this spell in my setting?
Would this planet in my setting be better as low gravity, or as a space station instead of a planet?
You basically have to do the work, and you may come across methods to build planets and ships in a more streamlined manner.
Make the proper comparisons from your setting to Starfinder's rules, and you should find your comfort zone.
Heck, one dude at my LGS wants a completely homebrewed setting of Spaceballs to play in as a PC.
I have half a mind to run a wacky grim-dark as a part Star Trek, part DOOM, and part Borderlands campaign, with just a tiny spritz of Warhammer 40k, but not too much.
One of my players in a hopefully upcoming campaign has a lot more comfort with Shadowrun and DnD, so I'm of the mind homebrewery can come to the rescue for the sake of enjoyment.
BRO how dare you immediately call me out with the ysoki mechanic lmao 😂😂. That's literally going to be my first ever Starfinder character!
Very Excited to play this system, my group starts tomorrow with me as the GM \o/
Great review, so good in fact I'm going to give the game a try with my group after initially dismissing it as "Pathfinder in space". Well done!
Loveing the Starfinder system.. Sorry i missed you at GenCon..First year i have missed sence it came to Indiana (my home state).. Thanks for the videos Cody.. Gonna possibly run an online game with some friends very soon!!
I really enjoyed and appreciated this review. My one critique is that this really feels like a cheerleader report with no critique. No actual player has NO critiques.
Not that anyone on this channel is going to see this so long after the posting. :)
... I read every comment
outstanding vid, Cody
+Drunkens & Dragons: thanks Hank!
Great intro into Starfinder. Looking forward to watching the rest. Subscribed.
Aye, he's back boys.
I know I'm a bit late, but, awesome video! Thanks! Really got me interested in the game!
So I realized you've probably put this system down for a while, but I was wondering if you could give us a walkthrough of how you as a GM would run a dog fight in Starfinder.
Why did I think you were asking how to run the mechanics of literal dog fighting in Starfinder
Running a 1 shot starfinder and appreciate the video, although it certainly backs up why I couldn't play pathfinder. I do disagree that 5e is a light system. It's medium weight if i was to give it a board game. I'd probably say Cypher or Fate would be light systems, pathfinder medium heavy, and palladium heavy. For those who think 5e is light, definitely play other systems. I love the rules cleanups but until they fixed the hat skill system its cumbersome. I'd rather have 40 skills that i choose from as primarily and secondary skills than do accounting to appease the illusion of choice. I know that maximizing skills are necessary, so why make me do so much adding.
The weight of the system though truly comes down to how much illusion of choice you want to give the player versus how much time u want them to put into that illusion of choice. Take the skill system. A robust skill system like pathfinder must constantly progress skill checks to match optimal pc level skills to keep up with balance. Whereas a system like dnd uses static skill sets that upgrade slower. In essence, these are the same two systems with a less emphasis on the illusion of choice given in dnd. In both games u choose to upgrade specific skills that are needed and those skills receive bonuses as you move along.
Then take a system and compare this to a system like rift, where you can have degradation of skills as you level. This adds an additional layer of balance needed to maintain.
I have a routine 5e game wiht two rangers, who couldn't be two different skilled, feated and ability characters. One a solemn long range killer who enjoys his targets to be injured for more damage versus the loudmouthed shooter who likes uninjured targets and also dabbles his some sword play. This is contrasted by the nature loving ranger. I've yet to see players "play" the same character in a game
very good information and great video thanks for the updates needed this for a quick start for a game that we decided to move over from pathfinder i will say that when i first looked at starfinder it seemed very familiar of the old WOTC Star wars rpg now it seems familiar but very different.
This is a great introduction. Thank you. 🙏
just if you did not know ... weapon specialization applies to 1 type of weapon you are proficient with ... to have it with all weapon you are proficient with you need VERSATILE SPECIALIZATION ... but still a great review !!!!
played Starfinder for the first time on sunday at a store and i had no idea of how to play your videos help out a lot thank you i love the game so far and im playing as a Human Solarian
Man! I wish you'd play FFG's Genesys Android: Shadow of the Beanstalk. The book can sure use fan-support, the kind that you deliver in very pleasant fashion. Good job!
Thank you for tell.me how bulk work. I was using strength modifier and I was getting very small number. Now I am using the strength score make huge difference lol duh. Thank for making the video keep them coming.
This was really helpful, thank you :)
Sorry if I have the wrong video, but I think it's mentioned that size no longer effects AC of characters. On page 409, Table 11-12 they have a chart of Size and Armor Class of objects, that seems traditional (+1 for small objects). Would that not apply to small characters too, unless they specifically say it doesn't? Thanks :)
I love bulk and I love credsticks, as a DM It makes bookkeeping SIGNIFICANTLY easier IOM, in addition I love the setting to pieces and as somebody who started out in pathfinder before transitioning to 5e, I'm glad to see a good balance struck between D&D's simplicity, and Pathfinder's depth.
Still salty over lack of a bestiary included in the Core Rulebook but cest las vie.
#ItsComing
And I want to make a video on converting your Pathfinder Bestiaries.
To the bulk thing. What about a negative strength score? Are you not able to carry anything or is the minimum of bulk you can carry 1?
To lift the issue with the Resolve Points and Race/Class-Combination I would houserule the following:
For the calculation of the Resolve Points, the Racial Bonus is applied to the Key Ability of the Class. That way, I think, no combination is hampered when you find a certain race with an "unfitting" class appealing and should (in theory) give a higher chance to see different combinations of races and classes.
The way I was houseruling it is that your key ability score is always your highest ability score. That way you're punished less for trying to do something different.
I like the way racial modifiers and point-buy work as is, because even if you have a -2 racial modifier to an important stat to your character, it is in fact possible to still get an 18 in it at level 1.
Wait... This game is set in the Pathfinder universe!? THAT'S AWESOME!!!!
Thanks for this info! Great video
I believe you sold me on this.
This is the very best table top game I've ever seen. This game is fucking amazing. Better than D&D. Better than Pathfinder. As good as warhammer but tons cheaper.
The only problem with this game, is finding players.
This game is fantastic so far!
13:44 In dnd you cen diversify your character with feats and multiclassing.
Thanks for these videos. Super useful.
While your series is exceptional, I have to STRONGLY disagree with you on one point. Character themes are not "purely mechanical" . They bring depth to a character and can fill in weaknesses, or bolster strengths. Take Ace pilot, treating half of your ranks in piloting as ranks in whatever skill you need during space combat is huge and allows you to put skills in other places if you wish. Priests get a Mystic spell, (never bad and very good if you choose wisely), scholars free knowledge rerolls, Spacefarers can make knowledge rolls untrained, etc.
I think you missed the value in themes. Good series otherwise though. I subscribed and look forward to seeing more of your videos.
When compared to 5e Backgrounds, which add flaws, bonds, etc... you can see how 93% of text dedicated to each page on themes is literally mechanical things that happen in game. Whereas 5e, will add RP aspects.
Fair enough. Still our mechanic considers himself a Bounty Hunter first and introduces himself as such. Our Envoy refers to herself a priest of the Black Butterfly not an Envoy. I think it can influence your character choices if you choose to roleplay it that way.
Still this mainly Pathfinder player gets your point about 5e. Thanks for the response.
@@woodyelliott307 This is why I say that DnD (and it's offshoots) is not really a role-playing game. It's a wargame that someone could role-play with if they wanted to. Same thing with Monopoly. I could put a monocle in my eye and talk like a rich old guy as I tell someone they owe me rent, but that doesn't make Monopoly a role-playing game. Mechanically, most D20 systems are just a combat game that someone could decide to roleplay with if they wanted to. Other modern games integrate the mechanics more into character, themes, rewards, and storytelling elements. That's not a criticism (I've had great D20 roleplay experiences) - just something to be aware of.
Useful introduction - thank you.
the health/stamina system reminds me of ho/sdc from rifts
Need to bring back starfinder week
I'd love a video on the starfinder setting. I know there's a lot of room for homebrew stuff, but I'd like to hear about established factions/powers, interesting planet systems, etc...
Heya! will this guide still work for modern starfinder? I got the paperback core rulebook and was wondering if these videos will help digesting it.
Overall it is looking very good............. the only problem I have is the cramming of multiple habitable planets/moons into the same star system, the vast majority of which would be outside the 'goldilocks' region of the system - so I've simply moved all except Absalom Station to multiple neighbouring star systems, the core system still has multiple planetoids but other than artificial habitats (satellites & small enclosed bases) none are habitable now that the homeworld has disappeared :-)
terraforming
I'm doing the same. But some planets will stay out of the goldilocks zone like Eos, since it's a dead planet it can be out of the zone with no issue.
This is all well and good but I mean, in a world filled with actual deities that bestowed knowledge of how to make interstellar spaceship engines, with magic and alien races including "four armed human" (not possible anatomically, or at least extremely unlikely), insect man that's bipedal for some reason, human coloured differently and who could forget, Lizardman and Mouse Boi, I don't think having planets be habitable even outside the "goldilocks" zone is a big stretch all things considered.
HOLY SHIT I am so happy about the Bulk thing as an EU player its always such a drag to calculate the lb since I am not at all familiar with it. Bulk makes that way simpler for everyone
Leronos ugh, Bulk is such a lazy way to do encumbrance. Might as well drop it all together and let characters carry anything (Starship in my backpack, don't worry we ignore encumbrance in our game). Do or do not, bulk is sad.
Well I rather have bulk as a DM then to check every Character of my 8 Man friend crew if they are honest and so on :) But hey lets do it the old way. Oh what is taht the first goblin u kill gave you a bag of holding guess what mechanic is no longer relevant
Thanks for introduction. So about feats. Does amplified glitch feat work on Androids?
Great video, keep it up!
it is possible to play a mass effect adventure with this rules? or maybe put a lightsaber? what do you think?
Very good educational video.
Can you do one about Savage RIFTs?
So this is Pathfinder version of Eberron from DnD. I like it already
I know this is a 5yo video, but just picked up the paperback book of Starfinder at a gaming store for $20. I GM for D&D 5e, and was really not impressed so much by Spelljammer for 5E. A lot of mechanics for ship combat, etc. that I can adapt to my 5E campaign (somehow we ended up in space pursuing Mindflayers!)--so thanks for the intro videos.
Thanks, dood!
I wish there was an RPG Video game of StarFinder like how they did with PathFinder.
I'm going to be DMing a group for the first time in the starfinder setting. Are there any other good resources you could recommend?