Pathfinder vs Starfinder
Compare Pathfinder and Starfinder side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Pathfinder | Starfinder | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Scifi |
| Play Style | Tactical, Crunchy, Combat-Heavy, Character Building, Dungeon Crawl, High-Fantasy, Grid-Based, Heroic, Ascending AC, Exploration, Classic Fantasy, Lore-Heavy | Tactical, Crunchy, Combat-Heavy, Character Building, Grid-Based, Heroic, Ascending AC, Space Opera, Ship-Based, Exploration |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d20 + modifier against a DC. Four degrees of success: critical success (beat DC by 10+), success, failure, and critical failure (miss by 10+). Each turn grants three actions to spend freely on strikes, movement, spellcasting, or other activities. Multi-attack penalty (-5/-10) discourages repeated strikes and encourages tactical variety. | d20 + modifier vs. DC. Three-action economy per turn. Four degrees of success. Cross-compatible with Pathfinder 2e. |
| Dice | d20 | d20 |
| Complexity | High | High |
| Accessibility | Very High | Very High |
| Community | Very High | High |
| License | ORC | ORC |
| Cost | Free (ORC) | Free (ORC) |
| Publisher | Paizo | Paizo |
| Year | 2023 | 2024 |
| Best For | Groups who want deep character customization, tactical grid combat with meaningful turn-by-turn decisions, and a richly detailed fantasy setting with free rules. | 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 | Complete rules available free on Archives of Nethys. Three-action economy gives every turn meaningful tactical decisions. Character customization through ancestry feats, class feats, skill feats, and general feats at every level. Four degrees of success on every roll add granularity to outcomes. | Free rules on Archives of Nethys, deep tactical combat, cross-compatible with PF2e, distinct class identity |
| Considerations | New players must learn the trait system, conditions, and four degrees of success before combat runs smoothly. Multi-attack penalty and numerous combat actions can slow turns for indecisive players. Character creation requires selecting feats from multiple categories at every level, which can overwhelm new players. | 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 |