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Starfinder GM Core
264 pages, Hardcover
Published September 16, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 5, 2025
GM specific books always tends to be a mixed bag, and this is no exception.
As a cover to cover reader, this book was not great. While the Player Core was in legalese, it wasn`t that bad when it came to amount of words used. The Galaxy Guide was also sparse, but obviously less legalese. This book went all in on a "coversational style" with random thoughts, tips and rules mixed up. Making it a chore to read through, and makes it hard to find specific rules and topics you are wondering about.
The illustrations and general look of things are top notch. Can`t recall horrible typos.
The book has a very varied set of topics, of different value to different people I would assume.
The highlight is the subsystems section. Built with the same framework between them, so chases, infiltration and starship encounters have common ideas and rules for resolving them. And can either be solved with some dice rolls and a narrative summary if it`s something the group doesn`t care for spending loads of time with, or have a more narrative approach, where you could even play it out as you would a Blades in the Dark heist if you were so inclined (obviously no mention of this in the actual rules.) I really liked these. And the fact one can write scenes as a statblock and not have to do blueprints, maps and lots of tactical stuff saves time and space too.
The parts about building encounters/worlds and whatnot is okay. Nothing groundbreaking. Prefer other sci fi games for tools and help with creating over the material here and will likely not use it.
What really didn`t do it for me was the "how to set up a session" like it was for people that have never been a gm or invited people before; it struck me as a very american thing? And wouldn`t people check online for this kind of stuff and not read a GM book for a very rules heavy system? The anachronistic section about mixing Starfinder and Pathfinder is a lot of pages of "things you should consider" rather than hard rules. Didn`t really find it useful.
But the worst part was essentially a third Pact Worlds primer. Ancestries, worlds, religion and all that jazz with a very small amount of new stuff (don`t remember the planes/dimensions info from Player Core or Galaxy Guide) so that was more page count I could have done without.
All in all, the book felt a bit pointless and a chore to read, but a section of the book is just really good rules design. I`d reccomend people to not bother reading cover to cover and just use the subsystems as they come up, unless you skipped the galaxy guide and didn`t bother reading anyting in Player Core except the rules of the game as a GM.
As a cover to cover reader, this book was not great. While the Player Core was in legalese, it wasn`t that bad when it came to amount of words used. The Galaxy Guide was also sparse, but obviously less legalese. This book went all in on a "coversational style" with random thoughts, tips and rules mixed up. Making it a chore to read through, and makes it hard to find specific rules and topics you are wondering about.
The illustrations and general look of things are top notch. Can`t recall horrible typos.
The book has a very varied set of topics, of different value to different people I would assume.
The highlight is the subsystems section. Built with the same framework between them, so chases, infiltration and starship encounters have common ideas and rules for resolving them. And can either be solved with some dice rolls and a narrative summary if it`s something the group doesn`t care for spending loads of time with, or have a more narrative approach, where you could even play it out as you would a Blades in the Dark heist if you were so inclined (obviously no mention of this in the actual rules.) I really liked these. And the fact one can write scenes as a statblock and not have to do blueprints, maps and lots of tactical stuff saves time and space too.
The parts about building encounters/worlds and whatnot is okay. Nothing groundbreaking. Prefer other sci fi games for tools and help with creating over the material here and will likely not use it.
What really didn`t do it for me was the "how to set up a session" like it was for people that have never been a gm or invited people before; it struck me as a very american thing? And wouldn`t people check online for this kind of stuff and not read a GM book for a very rules heavy system? The anachronistic section about mixing Starfinder and Pathfinder is a lot of pages of "things you should consider" rather than hard rules. Didn`t really find it useful.
But the worst part was essentially a third Pact Worlds primer. Ancestries, worlds, religion and all that jazz with a very small amount of new stuff (don`t remember the planes/dimensions info from Player Core or Galaxy Guide) so that was more page count I could have done without.
All in all, the book felt a bit pointless and a chore to read, but a section of the book is just really good rules design. I`d reccomend people to not bother reading cover to cover and just use the subsystems as they come up, unless you skipped the galaxy guide and didn`t bother reading anyting in Player Core except the rules of the game as a GM.
January 8, 2026
As a GM coming from Pathfinder 2e, I was curious how distinct this would feel. The Starfinder GM Core proved that this is its own animal in the best way possible.
The engine is familiar and the rules for zero gravity and hacking are fantastic additions, but the standout for me is the cinematic starship combat.
It feels much less cumbersome than other systems I've seen. It plays almost like a skill challenge, keeping things moving fast while still delivering on the fantasy of epic space battles.
I also really enjoyed reading through the Pact Worlds section. Even though I’m building a custom campaign, the lore presented there gave me countless ideas for how to structure adventures in a futuristic setting.
Between the new mechanics and the lore, I have countless ideas for cool encounters.
The engine is familiar and the rules for zero gravity and hacking are fantastic additions, but the standout for me is the cinematic starship combat.
It feels much less cumbersome than other systems I've seen. It plays almost like a skill challenge, keeping things moving fast while still delivering on the fantasy of epic space battles.
I also really enjoyed reading through the Pact Worlds section. Even though I’m building a custom campaign, the lore presented there gave me countless ideas for how to structure adventures in a futuristic setting.
Between the new mechanics and the lore, I have countless ideas for cool encounters.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews