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Starfinder Core

Starfinder: Core Rulebook

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Shoot for the Stars

Blast off into a galaxy of adventure with the Starfinder Roleplaying Game! Step into your powered armor and grab your magic-infused laser rifle as you investigate the mysteries of a weird universe with your bold starship crew. Will you delve for lost artifacts in the ruins of alien temples? Strap on rune-enhanced armor and a laser rifle to battle undead empires in fleets of bone ships, or defend colonists from a swarm of ravenous monsters? Maybe you'll hack into the mainframe of a god-run corporation, or search the stars for clues to the secret history of the universe or brand new planets to explore. Whether you're making first contact with new cultures on uncharted worlds or fighting to survive in the neon-lit back alleys of Absalom Station, you and your team will need all your wits, combat skill, and magic to make it through. But most of all, you'll need each other.

This massive 528-page hardcover rulebook is the essential centerpiece of the Starfinder Roleplaying Game, with rules for character creation, magic, gear, and more—everything you need to play Starfinder as either a player or Game Master! The next great adventure in science-fantasy roleplaying takes off here, and the Starfinder Core Rulebook is your ticket to a lifetime of adventure amid the stars!

Inside this book, you'll find:

- All of the rules you need to play or run a game of Starfinder.
- Seven character classes, from the elite soldier and stealthy operative to the physics-hacking technomancer and mind-bending mystic.
- Character races both new and classic, from androids, insectile shirrens, ratlike ysoki, and reptilian vesk to the dwarves and elves of the distant future.
- An in-depth exploration of the Starfinder setting, including its planets, gods, factions, and threats.
- Hundreds of weapons, spells, technological gadgets, magic items, and other options to outfit any character.
- Complete rules for starships, including customization and starship combat.
- Rules and tips on using Pathfinder RPG content with Starfinder.

Cover art by Remko Troost

528 pages, Hardcover

First published August 17, 2017

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243 people want to read

About the author

James L. Sutter

116 books208 followers
James L. Sutter is a co-creator of the best-selling Pathfinder and Starfinder roleplaying games. He’s the author of the young adult romance novels DARKHEARTS and THE GHOST OF US, as well as the fantasy novels DEATH'S HERETIC and THE REDEMPTION ENGINE. His short stories have appeared in Nightmare, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, the #1 Amazon best-seller Machine of Death, and more. James lives in Seattle, where he's performed with musical acts ranging from metalcore to musical theater.

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55 (14%)
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
Profile Image for Mireille Duval.
1,702 reviews106 followers
January 20, 2018
(It's not really the type of book you read in its entirety, obviously! I did read quite a bit of the player section.)

I thought the idea of playing Dungeons & Dragons IN SPACE was very exciting. ("In SPACE?" asked my 6 year-old. "You're going to get on an actual spaceship?" Aw, very literal kids.) I think the concept and the gameplay are strong, the backgrounds, races and classes seemed balanced. That said, reading all the classes, I missed how streamlined D&D 5e was! There are just so many rules in Pathfinder! Ultimately, I felt that I couldn't get enough of a grasp on the bases to roleplay adequately.

The book itself is very beautiful, with great art, etc.
Profile Image for Max.
1,460 reviews14 followers
September 22, 2018
I got this largely for two reasons: to get a hint at what Pathfinder 2 will look like and because the setting seemed intriguing. Of course by the time I actually finished, the Pathfinder 2 playtest version came out (which I need to get around to downloading and reading). Still, that leaves the questions of whether I'd want to play with this system and in the Starfinder world.

What I found interesting about this game compared to Pathfinder is it's very tied to a specific setting from the start. They claim you can also play in your own science fantasy settings, and admittedly you can homebrew up a setting, but it'll need to follow various assumptions in the character classes, races, etc. I doubt anybody is gonna be using Starfinder to do Star Wars anytime soon. The specific setting focus is pretty common for non-D&D RPGs, but I can't help feeling like I would've preferred things structured somewhat differently. After all, there's only one monster statblock here, and it's so high level as to be completely useless. Plus they've already done a book to expand on the setting and so I would rather they have waited for that to debut the full Pact Worlds.

I will say that the Pact Worlds setting itself seems kinda fun and has some good potential for adventure. It's very much a D&D in space kinda deal, though unlike Spelljammer, things hew about as close to real world physics as typical sci-fi (in other words, there's hyperspace but no phlogostion). The various planets tend to be science fantasy spins on our own solar system, like a Mercury covered in robot life, a jungle Venus, and a distant world on the edge of the system that may be the larval form of a Lovecraftian deity. There are even cities floating in protective bubbles in the upper atmosphere of the sun. And there are various worlds far beyond the Pact Worlds, including the warlike Veskarium, the Azlanti Star Empire, and one-off oddities. If I have one major criticism of the setting (aside from the issue of how it takes up space in the core book), it's that the idea of Golarion being gone is one I don't like. It's obviously to avoid having to answer questions about the future of the Pathfinder setting, but it just raises a big setting mystery that will almost certainly never be actually resolved, at least not canonically. Also, the fact that the Gap (a big loss of memory about the time in which Pathfinder occurs and much before and after) extends across the galaxy is just kinda dumb.

As far as characters go, there's stuff I like and stuff I don't. Other than humans, the standard fantasy races have been exiled to an appendix, as the vanishing of Golarion has greatly reduced their numbers. Now there are various sci-fi species, like four armed warriors from a dying planet, rat people, and other strange things. I can't say how good a job they've done of covering the bases of generic sci-fantasy species, but I could totally see myself playing a Ysoki or one of the Vesk lizardmen. The classes are an interesting mishmash of stuff, largely presenting sci-fantasy equivalents of Patfinder core classes. I think one of the big weaknesses is that arcane and divine magic are still split out - I'd maybe rather have one mage class that can be focused further. Then again, the technomancer leads to cool spell fluff and the mystic ties in to an exploration of space religion that's kinda cool. The solarian is the standout class to me, because it's breathes new life into the Totally Not A Jedi archetype by requiring a balance of light and dark powers and exhibiting a philosophy of the universe as a cycle. I also like the mechanic, and even the soldier seems a bit of a boost over the fighter, if maybe not quite enough of one. The envoy, though, suffers in a game that doesn't have detailed social mechanics and has chosen to preserve charm spells.

Equipment suffers, both from a strange level restriction system and from insufficient space. There's not enough room to give enough types of cyberware, magic items, and so on. There's a lot of guns, but they're not very interesting. The book cites Rifts as an inspiration and I couldn't help but think how Rifts makes every weapon interesting by giving it a story - who manufactured it and what makes it special. Starfinder, on the other hand, just lists what level it is and how many dice of damage it does. Now I do see what they're doing with item levels in theory, because it makes it clear what equipment should be available when. But because level restricts what characters can buy even aside from the rising cost in credits, it gets weird and raises questions. Do levels exist as an in-universe thing now? I can't help but feel there must be a more naturalistic solution to the issue.

Combat is pretty typical D20 combat, though Paizo has reversed their decision from Pathfinder and removed the special Combat Maneuver stats. This is probably partly because they added an extra layer of complication and partly cause when a lot of the party is using guns, how often is tripping and sundering going to come up anyway? The rules themselves seem alright, but the organization felt completely awful, with sections discussing things by topic in a way that didn't flow naturally at all. Also I found it weird that vehicle combat is in the combat chapter but starship combat is not.

The starships are generally fun, and I'd certainly be interested in a starships sourcebook. The descriptions went a long way towards making up for the equipment chapter by including at least some of the info about who makes the ships, why, and for what purpose. I think there's a good selection, though perhaps a bit thin in terms of the level range. The bone ships from the necromancer planet stand out as being especially cool and having the nice touch that they lack life support cause undead don't need that stuff. The starship combat rules generally feel alright, if rather complicated. I like that they're clearly trying to give everybody in the party a role in combat, so that there aren't players sitting there bored with nothing to do, but it does have the downside that single person fighters have to move or shoot, not both, which feels like poor genre emulation. Also, I really don't like that all ships take up one hex - I'd much rather they actually be different sizes.

Magic is probably the biggest improvement over Pathfinder and is one thing that makes me interested in Pathfinder 2. The maximum spell level is now six, barring a few spells like Wish and Miracle, though those are only available as special high level class features. The idea of casting spells at different levels for different effects has been borrowed from the current edition of D&D, though Starfinder makes it a bit more complex than it needs to be. Also verbal and somatic material components seem to be gone, though I wouldn't be surprised if they stick around in the new Pathfinder. I really liked how some of the classic attack spells get refluffed into technomancers using batteries and other bits of tech to power them, though I didn't like the renaming. I did also feel that they haven't quite gotten the hang of rating spells as 0 through 6, since some were either too high or too low compared to others. Still, it feels like Paizo is on the way to making magic better for everyone by having it still fun but a bit more balanced with non-magic options.

The GM chapter is too short, with some perfunctory GM advice and a lot of stuff about traps and hazards. I will say that traps seem a bit too powerful and likely to lead to unfun PC deaths.

Overall, I could certainly see having fun with this game, but I'm not raring at the bit to play it. I'd potentially join a game and I'm curious if there's Starfinder Society near me, but I don't know I'd want to run it. The Pact Worlds campaign setting is kinda neat, and I have some interest in reading the book for it. And there are some ideas here I like, but there's also a lot of stuff that seems messy or dumb. Plus, just looking at this core book as a core book, I feel there are some serious missteps in terms of how the page count is spent and the lack of a monsters section. I'm personally not opposed to the D&D three core books model, but this book advertises it as everything you need to play and that's simply not true. It's especially outrageous when the Alien Archive, this system's monster book, is just 160 pages for forty bucks, making it significantly less monster filled and less valuable than any Pathfinder Bestiary. I'd been hoping to find a fun science fantasy/space opera game, but this isn't quite what I had hoped for.
Profile Image for Scott Waldie.
686 reviews2 followers
August 26, 2017
Just about everything you wanted out of 'Pathfinder in Space', in a fat, gorgeous rules volume. Will be interesting to see if this holds up better than comparable games like Alternity have in the past.
Profile Image for Andrew Obrigewitsch.
951 reviews167 followers
June 3, 2020
I read a huge chunk of this huge rule book. And I really enjoyed playing this game. It’s a basically pathfinder with spaceships and guns. But it’s a lot more fun than it sounds.
Profile Image for Benjamin.
1,437 reviews24 followers
Read
May 9, 2023
How? It was at the library.

What? It's Pathfinder -- which is to say, D&D 3.x -- in space. There are different races and classes, but the setting even references Pathfinder's Golarion and the appendix includes information on bringing in the standard fantasy races.

Yeah, so? It's pretty to look at, for a certain value of pretty; and there's some interesting character options here (so, in addition to class + race, you can also pick a theme like Ace Pilot or Outlaw -- though it's not clear to me what it means to be an Envoy (e.g., someone who makes their way through the world through guile and charm) who is also an Ace Pilot). But I think I can pretty clearly say that Pathfinder/Starfinder is not the game for me simply because I don't love this many rules.

BUT over that, there's a lot here that seems boring to me. Like, of course you're going to have a technomage option in a world that's got magic and science, but oy vey, we've seen that before so many times. I guess here's another thing: Starfinder/Pathfinder are too crunchy for me (too many rules) and also too middle of the road.
Profile Image for Lexi Faith Carlson.
139 reviews1 follower
August 3, 2022
I'm the DM/GM for my TTRPG group and we've mostly played D&D. After reading this, I'm on the fence of trying this. There are a LOT more detailed rules in Pathfinder/starfinder compared to D&D. I can see why people say there are more "freeing" options of character creations and things you can do not just in combat compared to D&D. If we started with Pathfinder/Starfinder, I think it would be different, but we didn't.
Unless my group wants to try it I probably won't just say, "hey we're doing this next." This will be their decision.
I know I'll have to invest in a hex star map and the Starfinder GM screen 🙄. Not a requirement I know, but the notes will already be on the GM screen I know I'll need to keep track of all these exstinsive rules, and of course there will be battles in space I'll either have to maybe make my own or get the Starfinder one, which is the cheapest.
I did enjoy learning about its lore and the different planets and peoples the time line of how most everyone was able to do deep space travel. The detailed spaceship classes and functions helped me imagine it. Not to mention the guns and blasters.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Eric Smith.
334 reviews31 followers
April 17, 2018
A very solid and well put together core rulebook that, other than a few minor things, is put together very nicely with a nice section in the back introducing the setting.
This is of course not a pleasure reading bok but i gave it the rating based on its ease to understand and the content. A well rounded start to Starfinder.
Profile Image for Becky.
1,620 reviews82 followers
December 31, 2017
I by no means read this book cover to cover, but to end the year I'm going to call it quits, as I've read probably as much as I'm going to in serious efforts. I really enjoy the setting of this role playing game, and the alien races introduced are exciting and offer several rejections of human artifacts like the gender binary. I find the rules to be on the side of unnecessarily complex, as I pretty much expect from Pathfinder. Still, lots of fresh and exciting things here and the game is fun to play.
309 reviews32 followers
February 20, 2019
This is a very solid core rulebook.

BUT! It isn't for new or beginning players. The rules are based on the already advanced pathfinder rules, which is already an advanced version of Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 ...

The amount of feats, additional rules, archetypes, themes are huge and there are a huge amount of options. There are is also a solid starship and verhicle system with multiple roles inside the starships and travelling rules through space.
31 reviews
January 26, 2020
Top-notch production values and not merely Pathfinder with a science-fantasy skin, this is it's own game. The thing I really like about Paizo's core rule books are they are the only books you need to play the game. Sure, there are all kinds of splat books that you can buy to enhance your gaming experience, but they are not necessary. This book is a little pricey, that's my only complaint, otherwise this is as good as it gets, as far as quality and content.
Profile Image for Nathan.
444 reviews4 followers
July 15, 2021
I am very excited about running this ttrpg system! There are a lot of very clever mechanics, and the system does a great job of creating the fears of infinite space presented in cinema and books that appeal to a player.

A space setting must present the atmosphere, diseases, and unknown environments as a major part of the hardships faced by PCs, not just combat. Without actually having tried it, I really like what Paizo did to make this a reality for the game.
Profile Image for Cathy.
20 reviews
April 16, 2021
My first rpg book that I read from cover to cover. Easy to create a character and select your supplies. Playing my second adventure and enjoying it. I like the d20 system as it is similar to the D&D system that I started with.

The art is very good and the tables & charts are easy to follow. Highly recommend this book to get you started!
Profile Image for Leif.
1,958 reviews103 followers
June 6, 2024
I'm a big fan of the Glass Cannon Network of podcasts, and I was very impressed with the beginning of their Androids and Aliens series, which uses the Starfinder rule set. However, watching that set of experienced roleplayers struggle with the rules, and reading through, I have to say that I find a lot of this needlessly complicated and evidently a bit of a hassle to use. Oh well!
Profile Image for Jorge Fuentes.
Author 13 books12 followers
July 22, 2019
Un juego completo con mil millones de datos que usar para tus partidas. Una ambientación completa, miles de opciones de personalización y todo genial... Pero eso lo convierte en un tocho muy difícil de leer.

¿Lo usaré en mis partidas? Sin dudarlo ¿Lo volveré a leer entero? Jamás.
169 reviews6 followers
July 18, 2021
The world and setting is interesting. The approach to rules and character options feels overwrought and unnecessary. I guess I just don't enjoy this style of game anymore.

+1 points for Weydan and Yaraesa.
Profile Image for Joseph Jeffery.
253 reviews3 followers
September 6, 2017
A good mix of old and new ideas. Some interesting changes for character creation that might make for some cool character concepts. Excited to see how it plays in a longer campaign.
Profile Image for Adam Roll.
158 reviews7 followers
April 6, 2020
Absolute genius, really fun RPG book that I couldn't help but read cover to cover.
Profile Image for Garrett Olinde.
603 reviews4 followers
May 11, 2021
Comprehensive, but not well arranged Things are hard to find as you jump from one page to another. You do need it to play and it suffices.
Profile Image for Stephen.
5 reviews
September 20, 2022
a brilliant scifi rulebook that makes me excited to play the game at some point in the (hopefully) not to distant future.
222 reviews
August 14, 2025
A wonderful introduction to the fantastic world of Starfinder. It really is like Pathfinder in space and it is glorious!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
72 reviews
Read
January 22, 2018
DNF. Yup, I still don't like science fiction RPGs, even ones written by Paizo.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews

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