Adapted from Near Space - Starfinder Wiki and Starfinder Playtest
Last month Paizo released their first play test document for Starfinder 2e. The first taste of what is to come from this exciting game setting is the first few levels of the Soldier class, supported by a few pieces of setting-appropriate equipment and a few monsters at the end to allow playtesters to run encounters against. Nestled in with these new rules elements, developers included notes on how they are approaching this rules update.
Not content to simply play a few encounter variants, I can’t wait to play campaigns in a science fantasy setting supported by the game design innovations from PF 2e. I’m going to use the context clues from the Field Test document to convert elements into my derivative setting for a west marches campaign… IN SPAAAACE!!!
The Fundamental Assumption
One major design concept the playtest revealed is, Starfinder 2e elements will operate within a Pathfinder 2e game, and vice versa. This is a huge step towards a Paizo rules engine that can support game settings across the spectrum of genre fiction. Cross compatibility opens up PF 2E’s published material to supplement what hasn’t been made yet for Starfinder 2e. Currently, this supports dropping a 1st to 4th level Soldier into a Pathfinder 2e game. This doesn’t quite draw PF 2e’s fine-tuned rules system into Pact Space yet. Some of Pathfinder’s elements don’t quite deliver on Starfinder’s space opera flavor; while these elements can function mechanically intact, they require a bit of flavor tuning to work in a spacefaring setting.
I’m going to homebrew towards playing a functional approximation of what Starfinder 2e will be. I’ll be tagging entries from the playtest as Play Test and entries I add as Homebrew. Play Test material will replace Homebrew material, and both will be superseded when Starfinder rules are finally published.
Devotion
One exception to my application of homebrew will be my use of Devotion for this settings alignment system. As outlined in the link above, I like having an alignment system more than not having one, and I’m having fun using five-color devotion more than other systems.
Alcyon Sector
Welcome to the Alcyon Sector, occupying the extent of known civilized space. Here, hardy colonists and opportunists seek a new future among the stars. But dangers and wonders await those brave enough to venture through drift space to new frontiers.
Lured by the Sector's promise of adventure and profit for those willing to seize it, freebooting crews ply their skills and daring to the various factions of this corner of the galaxy. The discovery of cosmic ley lines and ancient alien gateways in the region opened up new worlds to explore and exploit.
In the Alcyon Sector, battered traders haul cargo between remote outposts, veteran merc companies sign on for security gigs, and smugglers stay one step ahead of Patrol fleet ships. On the frontier, shrewd factions compete over resources and forgotten knowledge. Nomadic space clans descend from their traditional routes to stake claims.
Yet opportunities abound for the bold. Undiscovered archaeological sites hold artifacts of immense value. Unmapped cosmic hazards hide bounties for those who survive their mysteries. One's wits, skill, and a bit of luck may be the difference between a lonely death lightyears from home or earning enough credits and glory to become a sector legend. Are you ready to seize your destiny among the stars?
Ancestries of Alcyon Sector
These ancestries represent the Sentient species of this region of the galaxy; these species can be player characters adventuring across these Stellar Marches.
Android
Androids are biomechanical humanoid constructs that resemble humans, but unlike robots or artificial intelligence, androids are possessed of and animated by mortal souls.
Barathu
Barathu are an irregularly shaped sentient beings that evolved on the gas giant Haimone. They are capable of rewriting their own DNA, making them extremely flexible and adaptable.Barathus are soaring, translucent, blimp-like creatures that bear a vague resemblance to jellyfish. Their trilling communication gives them the appearance of odd birds or dolphins.
Human
Humans are a race of humanoids native to the Memory system known for their adaptability, ambition, curiosity, and history of impulsive violence.
They are one of the dominant races of the Foundry Confederation despite losing their homeworld during the Gap.
Kasatha
Originally from a planet orbiting a dying star far beyond the Confederacy, the four-armed kasathas maintain a reputation as a noble and mysterious people. They are famous for their anachronistic warriors, ancient wisdom, and strange traditions.
Lashunta (Elf)
Lashuntas are a race of humanoids native to the planet Asa in the Memory system. They are psychics with a unique self-determination and are a prominent race in the Confederacy government
Shirren
Shirrens are a race of locust-like humanoids commonly found in the Foundry Confederacy. They were formerly members of a predatory, telepathic hive mind known as the Swarm, but have recently become independent and unique individuals — though they still strongly value communalism, they also seek harmonious relations with other races.
Vesk (Lizardfolk)
Vesk are a humanoid race resembling lizards who hail from the Gevan Protectorate, an interplanetary empire near the Foundry Confederation.
Backgrounds of Alcyon Sector
These backgrounds represent the life experiences that influence a character to take up the life of an interstellar adventurer.
Classes of Alcyon Sector
These classes represent a player character's various adventurer roles on the Stellar Marches.
Soldier
Master of area weapons, heavy armor, and taking punishment, the soldier stands in the thick of the battle and unleashes devastating salvos against their foes while taking withering fire in return. By laying down a barrage of suppressing fire with powerful weapons, the soldier sets their allies up to fulfill their respective roles while encouraging enemies to focus on them.
Key Features of the Alcyon Sector
The Drift
The Drift is a transitive plane that connects every point in the galaxy. The galaxy's inhabitants traverse the Drift as a form of faster-than-light travel.
The Gap
The Gap is a recent phenomenon affecting all the memories and records across the multiverse. All memories and records of the planet Golarion were removed from all of the multiverse's inhabitants, and all memories of an indeterminate number of years. Even the deities are silent on the subject, vaguely referring to the safety of the lost planet of Golarion. No species members remember what happened during the unknown number of years covered by the Gap.
Very little is known about what happened during the Gap, or even how long it lasted. Judging from carbon dating and astrochronology, it lasted several millennia, although the exact end dates vary by location. Some planets record that it ended 310 years ago, while on others, it has ended only 275 before the present day.
Magic
Magic is a latent form of energy that permeates the universe. It manifests in many ways, including spells. Historical records dating from pre-gap times show that most planets in the Memory system once relied heavily upon magic to accomplish difficult tasks. The advancement of technology changed this, providing more economical solutions to complex problems. No longer was it necessary to spend years of dedicated study to learn how to produce magical light when one could simply buy a cheap flashlight. Magic and technology coexist today; most technological items incorporate small amounts of magic in their functions or manufacturing.
The Starfall Nebula
A vast, beautiful nebula is said to hold untapped resources and bizarre energy phenomena to avoid. Factions race to map and exploit it.
Factions of the Alcyon Sector
The sector is home to many factions, all vying for supremacy in this region of space.
Forever Ellipse
The realm of the Forever Queen marked by the trace of her heralding comet.
Foundry Confederation
A confederation of planets based in a space station that emerged from ruins of the Human homeworld in the Memory System.
Gevan Protectorate
The Gevan Protectorate is a militant interplanetary empire located in the Gevan system.
Adventuring in the Stellar Marches
These artifacts and phenomena typically draw the attention of adventuring crews in their search for wealth and renown.
Junk Belts
Massive rings of abandoned spaceships, space stations, and other debris orbiting some of the system's planets. Scavenging lost tech is profitable but dangerous.
Void Rifts
Unstable wormholes that have opened up, connecting distant parts of the sector. They provide faster-than-light travel but their unpredictable nature is perilous.
The Nomad Fleets
Flotillas of ships that never settle planets, staying mobile as they follow resources and opportunities through the sector.
Secrets of the Alcyon Sector
The drift as we know it was created with the onset of the gap; a hypergate network that pervaded the galaxy destabilized and exploded across transdimensional space, forming the massive and expanding rift known as the drift.
The Celestial Concordance and Ventosian Republic are among a handful of Interstellar Powers that existed before the Gap. The ruins they left behind point to the existence of technologically advanced planets that mysteriously vanished during the catastrophe.
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