Elite: Dangerous Role Playing Game vs Starfinder
Compare Elite: Dangerous Role Playing Game and Starfinder side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Elite: Dangerous Role Playing Game | Starfinder | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Scifi | Scifi |
| Play Style | Space Opera, Licensed IP, Ship-Based, Sandbox, Skill-Based, Classless, Tactical, Cinematic, Random Tables, GM-Friendly, Exploration | Tactical, Crunchy, Combat-Heavy, Character Building, Grid-Based, Heroic, Ascending AC, Space Opera, Ship-Based, Exploration |
| Core Mechanic | Roll a d10 and add your Skill bonus (one-tenth of your skill score, rounded down) — equal or exceed the GM's difficulty number to succeed. A natural 1 always fails and a natural 10 always succeeds, within reason. The same roll plus a weapon's Accuracy bonus drives combat at all three scales (personal, vehicle, and spaceship) against a target's Defence score. | d20 + modifier vs. DC. Three-action economy per turn. Four degrees of success. Cross-compatible with Pathfinder 2e. |
| Dice | d10 | d20 |
| Complexity | Medium | High |
| Accessibility | Medium | Very High |
| Community | Low | High |
| License | Proprietary (Frontier Developments licensed IP) | ORC |
| Cost | $$ | Free (ORC) |
| Publisher | Spidermind Games / Modiphius Entertainment | Paizo |
| Year | 2017 | 2024 |
| Best For | Groups who want to play freelance starship commanders trading, exploring, and dogfighting their way across the 34th-century Milky Way. Particularly suited to fans of the Elite: Dangerous video game who want to expand the experience with crewed ground missions and off-ship intrigue. | Sci-fi fans who want Pathfinder 2e's tactical depth with plasma rifles and starships. Great for PF2e veterans looking for cross-compatible space adventure. |
| Highlights | Three integrated combat scales (personal, vehicle, and spaceship) share the same d10 resolution but each has scale-specific actions and damage rules. Spaceship combat uses a two-zone abstract flight system with zone-restricted actions — joust, dogfight, broadsides, ram, and others — so manoeuvre matters without a grid. Sixteen ships from the video game (Sidewinder through Anaconda) are statted with full component, weapon mount, and modification rules. The Random Generation System provides d10 tables for generating star systems, missions, encounters, and military objectives between or during sessions. | Free rules on Archives of Nethys, deep tactical combat, cross-compatible with PF2e, distinct class identity |
| Considerations | Spaceship combat has more moving parts than personal-scale checks: shield recharge, equipment actions, floating bonuses, component criticals, and ammo all need tracking each round. The conversational prose style is approachable to read but slow to navigate when looking up a specific rule mid-session. Single-pilot ships are the default; running larger crewed vessels with multiple PCs at the same console takes GM adjustment. The setting is locked to the video game's 34th-century three-superpower politics, which constrains departures from established lore. | Steep learning curve, fewer classes and options than PF2e (still growing), tactical starship combat rules deferred to a future supplement with current rules being narrative only |