Review: Starfinder Character Operations Manual (Paizo)

Even with all of the playable races, fantastic feats, and customizable classes in Paizo’s Starfinder roleplaying game, sometimes your character idea still doesn’t exactly fit. In a universe of options, you need something new.

If you’re nodding along right now, then grab Paizo’s Character Operations Manual. The book adds new classes, alternate race features, and more options for the original core classes, plus equipment and spells on top of it all.

Let’s dive into the top five things you need to know about the book so you can set your dream characters free to and start exploring the Starfinder universe in a whole new way

New Character Classes (Finally!)

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The book’s most obvious draw are its three new character classes: biohacker, vanguard, and witchwarper. Paizo previewed the classes for player feedback in early 2019, and reveal the finished versions in this guide.

The Biohacker creates medicinals that can alternately support or wreak havoc on abilities, saving throws, and healing — a sci-fi doctor crossed with a touch of mad scientist for good measure. In play, this class focuses on a support role, preferring to hand out bonuses and sow chaos from the rear instead of getting on the front line.

Moving to the opposite end of the combat, you find the Vanguard. In battle, this class goes straight for front line, wielding a completely new series of abilities based on entropic power. They fight hard in hand-to-hand combat, both unarmed and with melee weapons. When their opponents fight back, their entropic powers convert that into energy to drive new and more powerful attacks.

Finally, there’s the Witchwarper, a very unique spell casting class. Instead of the damaging power of the Technomancer or the healing abilities of the Mystic, the Witchwarper changes the world around them, tearing holes in reality to pull forth environments, energies, and even terrain features from other timelines. This class offers players a completely new level of expression. Engage your creativity and let your witchwarper character start pulling apart the loose threads of reality.

Expanding the Classics

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There’s good news in the Character Operations Manual for the classes that you know and love from the base game, too. All current classes get a range of alternate class features.

Mystics, operatives, and solarians get significant new packages of power. Envoys may add combat or magic expertise, while mechanics could trade their drone for a prototype weapon or set of armor. Technomancers have new spell cache and magic hack options. Front-line soldiers can rediscover ancient martial combat arts. There’s literally new material for everyone.

More Themes and Race Options

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From the street rat to the sensate, the Character Operations Manual introduces new themes guaranteed to add more depth to your creations. Options like athlete and guard expand your storytelling and personality options while also adding functional abilities that assist in gameplay.

The alternate race options add a physical dimension to your character’s new backstory options. What if a vesk grew up on in a low gravity environment or a human spent years on a planet bathed in dusky half-light? Now you have the rules to make a Starfinder-legal character that fits those descriptions perfectly without twisting your gamemaster’s arm for special rulings. As a cool bonus, both the original Starfinder races and their legacy race counterparts get new options here.

Expanded Feats, Gear, and Spells

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Of course, no new Starfinder book feels complete without more character feats, new spells, and a warehouse full of exciting weapons and exotic equipment. The Character Operations Manual delivers on this score with three full chapters of dedicated material.

There’s plenty to like everywhere you look here, but the biggest boons come in the 70+ new feats, the addition of shields as an equipment category, and the expanded spell lists that cover every caster class. (A special shout-out goes to the “Awaken Computer” Technomancer spell, which we already have fun plans for. Bwahahaha.)

A New World of Archetypes

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Tucked away in the book’s chapter on classes, you’ll find the book’s biggest surprise: A marvelous expansion on the system’s original Archetype rules.

The new archetypes are a roleplayer’s treasure trove. They give players an array of new features and abilities to use with characters from every class.

In the past, if a particular game encounter shifted your character’s world view, it was hard to express that through the basic game rules; you had to rely on how you roleplayed the character’s reactions instead. Archetypes give you a rule-based framework for in-depth character skill customization.

Characters can begin using some archetypes at low levels (esotericist, battleflower, and free trader options begin at level 2), while others require level 6 characters and above.

Verdict

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The Character Operations Manual helps you craft your characters just the way you want them to be, so get that character concept out of your head and start playing them in your Starfinder game.

The book spices every corner of Starfinder with energy and possibility. Players will discover new facets of their favorite characters through powerful archetypes. The expanded class, race, spell, and equipment options are rocket fuel for the roleplaying imagination.

The depth and breadth of information make it a must-buy addition to your Starfinder shelf. We give it a hearty thumbs-up recommendation.

The vast majority of the content in the Character Operations Manual is legal for Starfinder Society Organized Play, so your new creations can quickly take their places in the continuing Starfinder universe. Check the Starfinder Society additional resources web page (paizo.com/starfindersociety/additional) for all of the details.