Starfinder playtest notes

When the Starfinder second edition playtest was announced, I committed to running each of the four standalone scenarios for the local PFS players. I also managed to play each of the scenarios online.

For #1, the level 1 scenario, I tried out the witchwarper class because it had some very cool theming, but it actual practice it worked as a generic arcane spellcaster. I was disappointed. Other people have tried it at higher levels and liked it, so either it needs some building up to come into its own or the particular options I tried using just don't work well.

Scenario #2 is 5th level. For this I built a pahtra (cat-like alien) envoy. I didn't have a very clear character concept in mind to begin with, but as I picked options the character's personality evolved into "Han Solo but a cat". Envoy was a very fun class to play; whatever the situation, you've got something you can do.

For scenario #3, 10th level, I tried out a skittermander operative. Skittermanders are six-armed lizard-like aliens who tend toward being excessively helpful; I picked Outlaw for her background with the explanation that she helped out the wrong people one time. Operatives are about shooting people in lots of creative ways, and I picked a specialty that supported multiple small guns to go in those copious hands rather than concentrating on one weapon. It was fine; I don't tend to gravitate toward classes that are just about combat, but it was interesting to try.

Scenario #4, the 15th level one, I finally turned to the thing that had actually captured my imagination first when looking through the rulebook. One of the ancestry options is the barathu, a floating jellyfish-like alien. Barathu heritages include the merged barathu, where multiple barathu have combined to form a hive mind. So basically a sentient siphonophore. Siphonophores are cool! So I played a merged barathu solarian and it was fairly cool. My only big complaint is that with the limited number of options in the playtest rulebook, I was running out of things to pick for my starting gear. Barathu feats have a lot of overlap with the augmentation options, and there were only barely enough solarian crystal options to fill out a 15th level solar weapon.

As for the scenarios themselves, #3 is the clear winner. The author clearly had a lot of fun writing it.

Mental meanderings

Something about the winter months always gets me busy making hypothetical travel plans. Occasionally they turn into real travel plans.

Lately, for instance:

• Looking at Seattle-area attractions to maybe go see before or after the Seattle Worldcon. Which got me thinking about how what I really want to see up in Washington is the Museum of Glass, which is actually in Tacoma. But Tacoma is where Enfilade! is held these days. And the museum turns out to be right next to where a lot of bus routes come together. Including the one that goes past the Enfliade! hotel. So if we're getting there the day before the con starts, I can go see the museum in the morning and get back in time for the first session.
• Looking at LA and Anaheim-area attractions in anticipation of the 2026 Worldcon in Anaheim. I think I may have to make a big list like I did for DC.
• Checking out Montreal-area attractions in case the Montreal Worldcon bid wins, which seems pretty likely with the other declared bid having announced it's moving to a later year. Oh, hello, Canada's biggest railway museum, you are a likely target!
• Seeing if it is possible to get from here to Exploding Whale Memorial Park entirely by train and bus. Answer: yes, but not easily. The simplest way would be to take Amtrak down to Eugene, stay overnight, then take a bus that runs from the Amtrak station out to Florence, then a local bus which gets one to within about half a mile of the park. It would be possible to get to Florence, spend a few hours, and then get back to Eugene the same day. It is technically also possible to get back to Portland on Amtrak the same day, but that might be a bit much.