Player Core
Chapter 1: Introduction
Example of Play
Source Player Core pg. 12
The following example is presented to give you a better idea of how Starfinder is played. In this adventure, Thurston is the GM. Jenny is playing Obozaya, an aggressive vesk soldier; Jessica is playing Dae, a flashy pahtra solarian; Mike is taking on the role of Zemir, a human witchwarper who's seen it all in every reality; and Dustin is playing Chk Chk, a moody shirren mystic who worships Zon-Shelyn. The party has chosen to fly their starship to investigate a disturbance near a Drift navigation beacon.
Thurston: Your ship speeds through the swirling colors and half-formed shapes of the Drift. You're getting close to the coordinates, but chunks of rock, ice, and metal scrap float ahead of you, blocking your path.
Zemir (Mike): “Time to chart a course through this mess.” I take a deep breath, grip the controls, and pilot the ship into the debris field.
Thurston: Roll your Piloting check.
Zemir (Mike): I rolled a 5, so with my +7 modifier I got a 12. “I'm gonna need more coffee for this.”
Thurston: Zemir turns just in time to avoid crashing into a massive asteroid, but he loses the path he was following.
Chk Chk (Dustin): I perform a dramatic reading of a poem I wrote about finding inspiration in failure through our Group Chat.
Group Chat is a mystic ability that lets Chk Chk and anyone in his bond communicate telepathically with each other. Most party banter happens in Group Chat.
Zemir (Mike): “Thanks, Chk Chk.” I chug some coffee and try again. 13! I've got a +7 to Piloting so that's a 20!
Thurston: The ship zooms safely through the debris until the beacon you were sent to investigate looms in the viewport. It's a cylindrical silver satellite twice the size of your ship lit by blinking red lights, anchored in the churn of hyperspace by the prayers of Triune's tech priests.
Zemir (Mike): I fly the ship closer so we can investigate. Thurston: Up close, you notice an armored ysoki clinging to the side of the satellite.
Chk Chk (Dustin): “Zemir, can you get us closer?” I'm going to send the ysoki a telepathic message to calm them down while we figure out a way to help. “Don't let fear erase you; let the void embrace you.” Is there any response?
Thurston: None. Only silence.
Dae (Jessica): I don't like that. “Hey Obo, can I borrow your jetpack?”
Obozaya (Jenny): “Only if you don't break it.”
Thurston: Dae, are you installing Obozaya's jetpack into your armor?
Obozaya (Jenny): Paws off! I'll do it with Quick Install.
Quick Install is a skill feat that lets Obozaya Install an Upgrade in 1 minute, instead of the 10 minutes this activity would normally take.
Dae (Jessica): I head for the airlock, then strike a pose as I step into space. “Hey Chk Chk, make sure you're recording this!”
Thurston: Now you're untethered. Are you free floating?
Dae (Jessica): Nope! I activate the jetpack and fly toward the ysoki.
Obozaya (Jenny): “Careful, Dae. I don't want to have to clean you off the side of that Drift beacon.”
Chk Chk (Dustin): “A splash of red would look great on that silver metal. But not if it's Dae's blood! Don't look at me like that, Zemir.”
Dae (Jessica): “No worries, bestie. After we rescue the ysoki, we can give the beacon a glow up.”
Thurston: Dae, up close, you notice that the ysoki's spacesuit is covered in blood, and that there's a crack in their helmet. Underneath, their face is frozen in a mask of terror.
Zemir (Mike): “Dae, it's time to get back to the ship.”
Dae (Jessica): “You don't have tell me twice, Z!” I grab the ysoki and drag them back to the ship.
Thurston: Dae, when you get back to the airlock, you notice blood smears on the floor that weren't there when you left.
Dae (Jessica): “Heads up. I think something got onto the ship.” I leave the ysoki in the airlock and sprint toward the bridge.
Thurston: Dae stops 60 feet down the hall from the bridge door. The rest of you hear dull scraping outside. It sounds like something's shuffling toward you.
Obozaya (Jenny): I pull out my machine gun and move in front of my allies, facing the door. Bring it.
Zemir (Mike): I stand up from the pilot's console and draw my laser pistol.
Chk Chk (Dustin): I draw my painglaive and check my bond to make sure Dae's safe.
Dae is part of Chk Chk's mystic bond, so he knows Dae is alive and not far away.
Thurston: The autodoor stutters open. A vesk and a human wearing tattered spacesuits loom in the doorway. Milky eyes bulge out of their rotting faces. Roll for initiative!
Everyone rolls Perception for their initiative. Mike gets a total of 20. Jessica rolls 12, Dustin rolls 16, and Jenny rolls 10. Thurston rolls for the driftdead, getting a 19 and 14. He secretly rolls for the ysoki in the airlock and gets a 13. Thurston records all these totals, putting everyone in order from highest to lowest. Two of the player characters have abilities that activate when they roll initiative. Zemir's Quantum Pulse lets him activate his quantum field, an area of warped reality he controls. He chooses to center it between the enemy and himself. Solarians can Attune as a free action when they roll initiative, so Dae chooses to become graviton attuned and manifests their solar weapon, a battle ribbon of crackling void energy.
Thurston: Zemir, you're up first.
Zemir (Mike): Excellent. For my first action, I spend 1 Focus Point to cast warp terrain.
Thurston: Which effect do you choose?
Zemir (Mike): I choose difficult terrain. My quantum field fills with twisted metal and chunks of rock from a reality where we didn't make it past that asteroid safely. For my next action, I shoot the vesk with my new laser pistol!
Mike rolls a 12 and adds +8, due to Zemir's training with simple weapons, for a total of 20. Thurston consults his notes to confirm the driftdead has an AC of 16.
Thurston: You hit! Roll for damage.
Mike rolls 2d6 for his tactical laser pistol and deals 7 fire damage, then marks 1 charge as expended from his gun's magazine.
Zemir (Mike): For my third action, I Take Cover behind a rock in my quantum field.
Thurston: The rotting vesk recoils as laser fire hits it, then it shoots a bolt of void energy at you.
Thurston rolls a 22. Zemir's AC is 21, but he gains a +2 circumstance bonus from standard cover. The attack misses. The driftdead fires another bolt at him. Thurston rolls a 23, which hits Zemir's AC of 21, and he takes 6 void damage. Then, the driftdead lumbers toward Obozaya. Each square of difficult terrain counts twice, so the driftdead's Speed of 25 feet isn't enough to get to her this round.
Chk Chk (Dustin): I cast vibe check. I'm broadcasting an angry poem about my childhood into the human's mind: “Despite all my bile, I am still just a bug in a vial!” That's two actions. Then, I'll Transfer Vitality to Zemir and heal him for 7 Hit Points.
Thurston rolls a 17 for the human driftdead's Will save against Chk Chk's spell DC of 21. The driftdead fails and must use its next action to attack the nearest creature. The angry driftdead goes next and attacks its vesk ally, dealing 4 damage.
Thurston: The walking corpse turns its anger on you, Chk Chk. It lurches toward you and lashes out with clawed hands. Does a 23 hit you?
Chk Chk (Dustin): “I welcome the pain!” Yes, that hits me.
Thurston rolls for slashing damage from the driftdead's claws and gets a total of 10.
Dae (Jessica): My turn! I Stellar Rush down the hall and into the bridge. Black lightning crackles around me and drags both enemies toward me when I dash past them.
Stellar Rush is a solarian feat that lets Dae Stride twice with a +10 circumstance bonus to their movement speed. When Dae finishes both Strides, enemies within 15 feet attempt a Fortitude save to determine if they're pulled toward Dae. Dae's Class DC is 21. Thurston rolls for both driftdead and gets a 6 and 12. Both fail and are pulled toward Dae, ending in adjacent squares. Stellar Rush has the cycle trait, meaning Dae's attunement changes to photon after they complete the action.
Dae (Jessica): My black battle ribbon bursts into solar flame. I pirouette and attack the vesk, making sure the camera drone can see all my moves. I rolled a 26.
The driftdead's AC is 16, so Dae's Strike is a critical hit and Jessica doubles her damage roll, for a total of 20 out of its 40 Hit Points.
Thurston: The creature snarls as the ribbon of starlight lashes across its torso, singeing its ruined spacesuit. Obozaya, it's your turn.
Obozaya (Jenny): “Thanks for the setup, Dae!” I Auto-Fire at both enemies. The human is closest to me, so she's my primary target.
Obozaya's Auto-Fire hits all creatures in a 20-foot cone, which includes Dae, but because of training from her bombard fighting style she avoids hurting her ally. Instead of Obozaya rolling to Strike, creatures in the area roll a Reflex save to find out how much damage they take. The vesk driftdead succeeds at its save and takes 9 damage— exactly enough to knock it out! The other fails and takes 18 damage from the barrage.
Obozaya (Jenny): “Hahahahaha!” That's Menacing Laughter for my third action. Oh, and don't forget, the enemy is suppressed.
Obozaya rolls an Intimidation check, adding her +11 modifier. She rolls a 1, so the driftdead isn't shaken. The driftdead is suppressed by Obozaya's attack, taking a –1 circumstance penalty on attack rolls and a –10-foot status penalty to Speed until the start of her next turn.
Thurston: One foe falls to Obozaya's barrage. There's a sudden lurch that feels like being pulled into the Drift as the dead ysoki from the airlock phases through the floor and lunges at Dae claws first!
That is the end of the first round of combat. The second round begins immediately after this, using the same initiative order as before and including the new foe. The fight is just beginning…
Thurston: Your ship speeds through the swirling colors and half-formed shapes of the Drift. You're getting close to the coordinates, but chunks of rock, ice, and metal scrap float ahead of you, blocking your path.
Zemir (Mike): “Time to chart a course through this mess.” I take a deep breath, grip the controls, and pilot the ship into the debris field.
Thurston: Roll your Piloting check.
Zemir (Mike): I rolled a 5, so with my +7 modifier I got a 12. “I'm gonna need more coffee for this.”
Thurston: Zemir turns just in time to avoid crashing into a massive asteroid, but he loses the path he was following.
Chk Chk (Dustin): I perform a dramatic reading of a poem I wrote about finding inspiration in failure through our Group Chat.
Group Chat is a mystic ability that lets Chk Chk and anyone in his bond communicate telepathically with each other. Most party banter happens in Group Chat.
Zemir (Mike): “Thanks, Chk Chk.” I chug some coffee and try again. 13! I've got a +7 to Piloting so that's a 20!
Thurston: The ship zooms safely through the debris until the beacon you were sent to investigate looms in the viewport. It's a cylindrical silver satellite twice the size of your ship lit by blinking red lights, anchored in the churn of hyperspace by the prayers of Triune's tech priests.
Zemir (Mike): I fly the ship closer so we can investigate. Thurston: Up close, you notice an armored ysoki clinging to the side of the satellite.
Chk Chk (Dustin): “Zemir, can you get us closer?” I'm going to send the ysoki a telepathic message to calm them down while we figure out a way to help. “Don't let fear erase you; let the void embrace you.” Is there any response?
Thurston: None. Only silence.
Dae (Jessica): I don't like that. “Hey Obo, can I borrow your jetpack?”
Obozaya (Jenny): “Only if you don't break it.”
Thurston: Dae, are you installing Obozaya's jetpack into your armor?
Obozaya (Jenny): Paws off! I'll do it with Quick Install.
Quick Install is a skill feat that lets Obozaya Install an Upgrade in 1 minute, instead of the 10 minutes this activity would normally take.
Dae (Jessica): I head for the airlock, then strike a pose as I step into space. “Hey Chk Chk, make sure you're recording this!”
Thurston: Now you're untethered. Are you free floating?
Dae (Jessica): Nope! I activate the jetpack and fly toward the ysoki.
Obozaya (Jenny): “Careful, Dae. I don't want to have to clean you off the side of that Drift beacon.”
Chk Chk (Dustin): “A splash of red would look great on that silver metal. But not if it's Dae's blood! Don't look at me like that, Zemir.”
Dae (Jessica): “No worries, bestie. After we rescue the ysoki, we can give the beacon a glow up.”
Thurston: Dae, up close, you notice that the ysoki's spacesuit is covered in blood, and that there's a crack in their helmet. Underneath, their face is frozen in a mask of terror.
Zemir (Mike): “Dae, it's time to get back to the ship.”
Dae (Jessica): “You don't have tell me twice, Z!” I grab the ysoki and drag them back to the ship.
Thurston: Dae, when you get back to the airlock, you notice blood smears on the floor that weren't there when you left.
Dae (Jessica): “Heads up. I think something got onto the ship.” I leave the ysoki in the airlock and sprint toward the bridge.
Thurston: Dae stops 60 feet down the hall from the bridge door. The rest of you hear dull scraping outside. It sounds like something's shuffling toward you.
Obozaya (Jenny): I pull out my machine gun and move in front of my allies, facing the door. Bring it.
Zemir (Mike): I stand up from the pilot's console and draw my laser pistol.
Chk Chk (Dustin): I draw my painglaive and check my bond to make sure Dae's safe.
Dae is part of Chk Chk's mystic bond, so he knows Dae is alive and not far away.
Thurston: The autodoor stutters open. A vesk and a human wearing tattered spacesuits loom in the doorway. Milky eyes bulge out of their rotting faces. Roll for initiative!
Everyone rolls Perception for their initiative. Mike gets a total of 20. Jessica rolls 12, Dustin rolls 16, and Jenny rolls 10. Thurston rolls for the driftdead, getting a 19 and 14. He secretly rolls for the ysoki in the airlock and gets a 13. Thurston records all these totals, putting everyone in order from highest to lowest. Two of the player characters have abilities that activate when they roll initiative. Zemir's Quantum Pulse lets him activate his quantum field, an area of warped reality he controls. He chooses to center it between the enemy and himself. Solarians can Attune as a free action when they roll initiative, so Dae chooses to become graviton attuned and manifests their solar weapon, a battle ribbon of crackling void energy.
Thurston: Zemir, you're up first.
Zemir (Mike): Excellent. For my first action, I spend 1 Focus Point to cast warp terrain.
Thurston: Which effect do you choose?
Zemir (Mike): I choose difficult terrain. My quantum field fills with twisted metal and chunks of rock from a reality where we didn't make it past that asteroid safely. For my next action, I shoot the vesk with my new laser pistol!
Mike rolls a 12 and adds +8, due to Zemir's training with simple weapons, for a total of 20. Thurston consults his notes to confirm the driftdead has an AC of 16.
Thurston: You hit! Roll for damage.
Mike rolls 2d6 for his tactical laser pistol and deals 7 fire damage, then marks 1 charge as expended from his gun's magazine.
Zemir (Mike): For my third action, I Take Cover behind a rock in my quantum field.
Thurston: The rotting vesk recoils as laser fire hits it, then it shoots a bolt of void energy at you.
Thurston rolls a 22. Zemir's AC is 21, but he gains a +2 circumstance bonus from standard cover. The attack misses. The driftdead fires another bolt at him. Thurston rolls a 23, which hits Zemir's AC of 21, and he takes 6 void damage. Then, the driftdead lumbers toward Obozaya. Each square of difficult terrain counts twice, so the driftdead's Speed of 25 feet isn't enough to get to her this round.
Chk Chk (Dustin): I cast vibe check. I'm broadcasting an angry poem about my childhood into the human's mind: “Despite all my bile, I am still just a bug in a vial!” That's two actions. Then, I'll Transfer Vitality to Zemir and heal him for 7 Hit Points.
Thurston rolls a 17 for the human driftdead's Will save against Chk Chk's spell DC of 21. The driftdead fails and must use its next action to attack the nearest creature. The angry driftdead goes next and attacks its vesk ally, dealing 4 damage.
Thurston: The walking corpse turns its anger on you, Chk Chk. It lurches toward you and lashes out with clawed hands. Does a 23 hit you?
Chk Chk (Dustin): “I welcome the pain!” Yes, that hits me.
Thurston rolls for slashing damage from the driftdead's claws and gets a total of 10.
Dae (Jessica): My turn! I Stellar Rush down the hall and into the bridge. Black lightning crackles around me and drags both enemies toward me when I dash past them.
Stellar Rush is a solarian feat that lets Dae Stride twice with a +10 circumstance bonus to their movement speed. When Dae finishes both Strides, enemies within 15 feet attempt a Fortitude save to determine if they're pulled toward Dae. Dae's Class DC is 21. Thurston rolls for both driftdead and gets a 6 and 12. Both fail and are pulled toward Dae, ending in adjacent squares. Stellar Rush has the cycle trait, meaning Dae's attunement changes to photon after they complete the action.
Dae (Jessica): My black battle ribbon bursts into solar flame. I pirouette and attack the vesk, making sure the camera drone can see all my moves. I rolled a 26.
The driftdead's AC is 16, so Dae's Strike is a critical hit and Jessica doubles her damage roll, for a total of 20 out of its 40 Hit Points.
Thurston: The creature snarls as the ribbon of starlight lashes across its torso, singeing its ruined spacesuit. Obozaya, it's your turn.
Obozaya (Jenny): “Thanks for the setup, Dae!” I Auto-Fire at both enemies. The human is closest to me, so she's my primary target.
Obozaya's Auto-Fire hits all creatures in a 20-foot cone, which includes Dae, but because of training from her bombard fighting style she avoids hurting her ally. Instead of Obozaya rolling to Strike, creatures in the area roll a Reflex save to find out how much damage they take. The vesk driftdead succeeds at its save and takes 9 damage— exactly enough to knock it out! The other fails and takes 18 damage from the barrage.
Obozaya (Jenny): “Hahahahaha!” That's Menacing Laughter for my third action. Oh, and don't forget, the enemy is suppressed.
Obozaya rolls an Intimidation check, adding her +11 modifier. She rolls a 1, so the driftdead isn't shaken. The driftdead is suppressed by Obozaya's attack, taking a –1 circumstance penalty on attack rolls and a –10-foot status penalty to Speed until the start of her next turn.
Thurston: One foe falls to Obozaya's barrage. There's a sudden lurch that feels like being pulled into the Drift as the dead ysoki from the airlock phases through the floor and lunges at Dae claws first!
That is the end of the first round of combat. The second round begins immediately after this, using the same initiative order as before and including the new foe. The fight is just beginning…