Source Character Operations Manual pg. 97
Androids were recognized as free citizens of the Pact Worlds more than a century ago, but nefarious corporations, the Azlanti Star Empire, and other bad actors still conscript them into forced labor. Android abolitionists are freedom fighters dedicated to liberating such androids and combating the oppression of created peoples.
Only some who have this archetype are members of the Android Abolitionist Front, an organization dedicated to fighting against android slavery. Likewise, not all Android Abolitionist Front agents have this archetype. Individuals with this archetype who join the Android Abolitionist Front are secretly inducted into a clandestine cell of local liberators, who train new recruits in the subtle arts of infiltration, manipulation, and protection. Once ready, abolitionists infiltrate and disrupt android trafficking operations or free enslaved androids.
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Source Starfinder #48: Masters of Time and Space pg. 50
There are parts of space that are undefined, unexplained, and sometimes even impossible. While most stay far away from these dangerous places, some actively seek them out. Whether to feel the thrill of harnessing the unknown, to understand what’s at the heart of such a phenomenon, or to simply make a profit, anomaly hunters risk their lives in these pursuits. These anomaly hunters live dangerously, but they are devoted to their cause and are driven, resilient individuals.
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Source Pact Worlds pg. 183
Much like the pre-Gap arcane academy of the same name, the Arcanamirium on Absalom Station is a prestigious institution of magical learning. Numerous ancient and alien artifacts are stored in the university’s vaults, and many sages trained at the institution thus specialize in studying magic items. Arcanamirium sages learn to hack an item’s magical field, which allows them to unlock powers unavailable to normal users.
Most Arcanamirium sages are mystics and technomancers who studied at the university, but other characters can be Arcanamirium sages, such as explorers who investigate ancient sites of magical power or adventurers who want to augment their abilities with magic.
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Source Starfinder Enhanced pg. 92
The art of blending magic with weaponry dates to long before the Gap, but very few ever sought to mesh physical defenses with mystic shields. The Hellknight orders of lost Golarion maintained an armored corps of spellcasters who held the rank of signifer, experts in the ways of spellcasting from behind featureless masks that also provided leverage to intimidation tactics. In the centuries since the Gap, other Pact World organizations have reverse engineered some of the Hellknights’ methods, as has the Veskarium’s Division of Disloyal Organizations. While many of an armored visionary’s skills are universal, some of their abilities are specific to the group that champions them, including the Hellknights, Knights of Golarion, Stewards, and others.
Spellcasters of any type can become armored visionaries. At 9th level, you will choose a specific organization and gain an ability that represents that group’s focus. Alternatively, you can work with the GM to select a substitute organization, potentially even creating your own ability. If you do so, be sure to use the relative power level of the 9th-level abilities to guide you. Those without strong affiliations to any organizations are often trained through AbadarCorp corporate outreach programs as a way to encourage stop-loss practices in everyday life, gaining acquistor’s gaze at 9th-level.
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Source Starfinder #41: Serpents in the Cradle pg. 45
Lucrative schemes don’t organize themselves. Behind every successful Aspis operation looms an Aspis mastermind: an adroit leader, organizer, and no-holds-barred negotiator ready to do whatever it takes to get the job done.
Masterminds never work alone, instead recruiting a team of ruthless experts and disposable muscle. Despite their unscrupulous methods, Aspis masterminds combine genius and charisma to inspire loyalty among minions ready to enact complex plans at a moment’s notice. Most get their experience on the job as members of other crews, but a few are trained at secretive Aspis facilities in Near Space and the Vast.
Most Aspis masterminds are envoys, operatives, or witchwarpers, using their abilities of fear and misdirection to stay one step ahead of their foes. Masterminds train in Profession skills to supplement and hide their more illicit activities, favoring professions like corporate professional, lawyer, merchant, manager, politician, or writer.
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Source Near Space pg. 143
Throughout the galaxy, shadowy figures move unseen, expertly eliminating targets before disappearing back into anonymity. Assassins originate from many different home worlds and cultures, and while no single tradition defines these gifted killers, several secretive societies train accomplished warriors into finely honed tools of discreet murder. Others learn the deadly craft on their own or from a mentor, refining their skills through decades of mercenary work. Some see assassins as supernatural beings—avatars of death that employ reality-bending magic to eliminate their targets. Others maintain that assassins gain their edge via superior technology. In truth, assassins make use of all manner of tactics, and some even use technomagical methods. Many organizations court assassins with exorbitant salaries and promises of immunity.
While many of the galaxy’s denizens are capable of committing murderous acts, assassins regard death as a painter does a palette. A skilled assassin can observe a target and determine the precise moment to strike, dealing irreparable damage to the target’s vital organs and ending their life with a single lethal blow. Many assassins also employ magic capable of tampering with the memories of potential witnesses, while others deploy technology that obscures their presence from modern surveillance.
Assassins value anonymity and discretion above all else; leaving a fragment of security footage behind or allowing their identity to be discovered can cost an assassin their job, if not their life. Many operatives and soldiers seek training as an assassin, but anyone with a talent for stealth and the willingness to kill can become an assassin. Though murder is part of the job description, not all assassins have evil alignments. Some individuals with this specialized training use their talents to serve a higher cause, but many are hardened criminals or jaded veterans with too much blood on their hands. Rumor has it that some law enforcement agencies in the galaxy employ small units of assassins responsible for tracking and taking down high-risk criminal targets.
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Source Starfinder Enhanced pg. 94
To an audocyte, music is everything. Music is universal language, music is freedom, music is exhilaration—music is life. Audocytes are more than just musicians, hoarders of albums, or frequent concert attendees; they’ve learned to unlock parts of their own soul through the use of music as a focus. More than audiophiles or aficionados, audocytes can use their understanding of the emotions that music stirs deep inside most sentient beings to sharpen their own skills as well as those of their friends and allies. These specialists can even weaponize the music they bring with them to the battlefield.
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Source Starfinder Armory pg. 143
Although first a caste on Verces, the Augmented have since become a cultural movement of seeking perfection through artificial upgrades—most often cybernetics. The Augmented push the boundaries of cybernetic integration, often appearing as much machine as organic.
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Source Near Space pg. 144
Followers of a tradition that originated in the Veskarium among devout followers of Damoritosh, battle leaders are known for celebrating victories as they happen, yelling out to their allies when an enemy suffers a critical or lethal blow and inspiring further glorious actions. This tradition has since spread throughout other star systems, and many species, from calculating Eoxians in the Pact Worlds to bellicose hobgoblins from the Gideron Authority can be counted among their numbers.
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Source Character Operations Manual pg. 98
Battleflowers (or ukara in Triaxian) are elite martial artists from Ning on Triaxus. The battleflower tradition goes back millennia. Renouncing family, social status, and outward expressions of gender, battleflowers perform extravagant, ritualized combats. They are celebrities in Ning and the wider Pact Worlds.
This art requires martial skill and a flair for performance, so most battleflowers are envoys, operatives, solarians, or soldiers. Many battleflowers are ryphorians, but anyone can train to become one of these gladiators.
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Source Starfinder Enhanced pg. 95
In the era of starships, airspace control is crucial. As the eyes, ears, and coordinators of militaries and disaster relief efforts, combat controllers are often the ones first there before major engagements or humanitarian aid missions begin.
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Source Near Space pg. 145
Commandos are elite specialists, trained to endure dangerous environments and hostile situations. They are known for building a resistance against specific threats, ranging from interrogation to weather. Above all else, a commando is tough and adaptable, sent into dangerous environments either as an individual or as part of a small troop to complete important missions or escort high-value individuals.
Organizations known to train commandos are widely varying, with soldier and vanguard commandos recruited by the Veskarium military, the Skyfire Legion of the Pact Worlds, and the Gideron Authority, where they play an important role in hostile environments and combat encounters. On Ghorus Prime, specialized commando mystics act as guides and operators for wilderness lodges that manage plant-creature populations in dangerous environments. The Speakers of Embroi are known for employing envoy commandos known for showing little fear, while squads regularly escort the Guardians of Daimalko. In both the Gideron Authority and the Marixah Republic, mystic and technomancer commandos lead investigations of unknown ruins in dangerous frontiers, resulting in technological advancements; such groups include the hobgoblin-led Scarlet Horse Troop and the Diamond Spider Division from the colonies of Sansorgis. What little exploration that has occurred on the floating ruins of Tabrid Minor is conducted largely by well-prepared commando biohackers and adaptable commando solarians.
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Source Starfinder Enhanced pg. 96
Mental illness, trauma, and hardship aren’t unique to any one planet or colony in the Vast. Nearly every culture in the Pact Worlds and Near Space understands how important emotional well-being and mental health are for society at large and have their own variety of counselors.
Most counselors attend school for years while undergoing rigorous certification processes. Some also adapt their culture’s traditions to fit modern lifestyles, while a few practice the craft through magical means, and some just take to it naturally. Whether working at medical centers, in private practice, as volunteers, or as travelers trading their services in exchange for passage to the stars, or by making use of their talents for their companions alone, counselors provide vital comfort to those in need.
While envoys are the most logical fit, biohackers seeking to better understand and treat others make for exceptional counselors, as do mystics who seek psychological means to supplement their magical abilities. It’s said that lashunta make for some of the finest counselors in the Pact Worlds, and many major organizations have whole divisions of vlaka counselors on retainer.
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Source Starfinder #41: Serpents in the Cradle pg. 53
While many inexperienced solarians master their powers through trial and error, the traditional method to gain knowledge of the Cycle is to be taught. Cycle scholars share their insights with initiates, demonstrating advanced solarian techniques and bringing out the best in their pupils. Some Cycle scholars teach from a sense of duty or obligation, while others embrace the opportunity to induct a new generation of solarians into their ancient traditions. While many Cycle scholars prefer a relatively sedentary life teaching at a cosmonastery—or even leading one—others prefer to take an apprentice and travel the galaxy, teaching through heroic example.
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Source Starfinder #17: Solar Strike pg. 53
Some scholars devote their lives to understanding the rare and bizarre creatures and civilizations that reside within the stars, known to many as Deep Cultures. Such a pursuit requires not only academic devotion but also physical resilience, as any kind of field research involves traveling to some of the most dangerous places in the universe. Nevertheless, those who persevere discover amazing secrets about both these unusual creatures and the stars themselves, and they soon find themselves capable of withstanding the power of suns and even harnessing it for their own use.
Within the Pact Worlds system, Deep Cultures specialists are highly sought after by many organizations, notably including the Corona Artifact Divers, the Sun Atlas, and the Deep Cultures Institute.
The majority of Deep Cultures specialists are scholarly types—often envoys, mystics, or technomancers, though members of many other classes may follow this path. Solarians in particular can be drawn to the secrets of Deep Cultures, and other martially oriented types may seek to understand the raw power of suns and their peoples. Typically, Deep Cultures specialists have the scholar, solar disciple, xenoarchaeologist, xenoseeker, or similar themes.
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Source Ports of Call pg. 113
While cave systems aren’t unique to Apostae, the city of Precipice maintains some of the best training facilities, including the Delver’s Union, for those who want to explore such environments. Whether they trained at a specialized institution or picked up their skills elsewhere, deep delvers are experts at surviving in dangerous conditions with dwindling resources. Some species who are adapted to living underground, such as xulgaths or bolidas (Alien Archive 2 20), might develop the skills of a delver just from their daily lives. Of course, such skills aren’t limited in usefulness to natural cave systems. Delvers can just as easily use their skills in cramped starship corridors, decrepit buildings with treacherous floors, alien ruins, and so on.
Delvers tend to have martially focused skill sets, such as that of soldiers, vanguards, or operatives. However, anyone who expects to spend extended periods of time underground can benefit from a deep delver’s abilities. Those who tend to be more perceptive than average, such as mystics, might also benefit from the additional awareness of one’s environment that being a delver confers.
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Source Starfinder #43: Icebound pg. 45
Directive 9 agents fulfill a variety of roles in their organization and the communities they infiltrate, from assassins and bruisers to diplomats and hackers. Despite these differences, certain characteristics connect agents’ expertise, most notably their ability to use specialized gear, escape sticky situations, and think on their feet.
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Source Starfinder #47: Nightmare Scenario pg. 44
Many kasathas worship the mysterious deity known as the Black Butterfly, a goddess born when an aspect of Desna split off and attained its own divinity, purpose, and adherents. On the world-ship Idari, the Temple of the Black Butterfly trains those of stalwart mind and body to oppose creatures of the void. Many disciples of the Stillness living at the temple take a vow of silence to better commune with their deity, but others choose to renounce worldly pleasures or personal attachments while retaining their use of speech. Soldiers, solarians, and vanguards often join the order, and most live as ascetic warriors protecting their communities while passing techniques down to younger disciples.
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Source Pact Worlds pg. 184
Most sentient denizens of the Pact Worlds revere a deity, but few experience such a close connection with their gods as divine champions. A divine champion is a fervent defender of or crusader for a faith, becoming a living vessel for the deity’s power through study and prayer. However, gods are mysterious and inscrutable, and they sometimes bestow this power upon mortals who don’t understand why they were chosen.
Divine champions of all classes exist, but different deities favor champions of different classes. For example, many of Hylax’s divine champions are envoys, while Iomedae prefers soldiers and Lao Shu Po favors operatives.
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Source Near Space pg. 146
A doshko is as much a symbol as it is a weapon. The traditional vesk melee weapon, a doshko requires strength to wield and delivers devastating blows in the right hands. The weapon imparts a clear willingness to engage in bloody conflict, which is why fearsome groups like the church of Damoritosh intentionally rely on doshko iconography. Doshko specialists are martial artists who study the history and traditions of the doshko not only to improve their ability to vanquish foes in melee, but to learn lessons of honor and fury that the weapon’s legacy can teach.
Nearly everyone familiar with an arms dealer’s wares knows that doshkos come with anywhere from one to four axe-like blades made of steel or energy, though the three-bladed version is the most common. Few other than vesk martial historians— including doshko specialists—understand that each blade has a specific meaning. Doshko specialists call the weapons’ blades their “teeth,” and each tooth, from the tip down to the haft, must be earned, one at a time, by learning a specific truth about the weapon. Although anyone might purchase a doshko with a variable number of blades, doshko specialists prefer to limit themselves to doshkos with only the number of blades they have earned. Intense rivalries ignite when doshko specialists find themselves on opposite sides of a confrontation.
Most doshko specialists are solarians, soldiers, or vanguards. Such soldiers often have the blitz fighting style, while vanguards might have the cascade or momentum aspects. Many doshko specialists are vesk, although vesk usually appreciate those of other species who strive to embrace the power and legacy of their traditional weapon.
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Source Starfinder #44: Allies Against the Eye pg. 52
Entropic ones are individuals who’ve learned to draw upon raw entropic energy, augmenting their body and mind; like adherents of the Eye of Entropy, entropic ones mark their status with a tattoo on their forehead or jewelry in the shape of an eye, but some entropic ones inexplicably manifest an actual third eye which appears on their forehead. This training is hard to find in the Pact Worlds and Near Space—most who seek it eventually find their way to the Shadari Confederacy.
The majority of enlightened ones hail from the Shadari Confederacy within the Kurzach Nebula; they include balrodds, draeliks, sceaduinar, and skrell. However, any species can develop these abilities with proper training, and some entropic ones have left the Kurzach Nebula behind to travel the cosmos, teaching new students and founding schools along the way.
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Source Character Operations Manual pg. 99
Within the halls of the Arcanamirium and similar enclaves of practitioners of magic across the wider galaxy, some spellcasters focus on the study of magic in its purest form. They also delve into ancient magic and magical techniques, some of which date back to before the Gap. Referred to as esotericists by some, and occasionally derisively, these spellcasters have uncovered magic that predates technology and doesn’t mix well with modern devices and modern engineering. A few of these spellcasters, mostly researchers rather than practitioners, reject the premise that magic and technology should be integrated, but a wider belief among esotericists is that the cumbersome and confining nature of technology can corrupt, dilute, and twist the unbridled potency of raw eldritch energies. As a result of their devotion to various forms of magic, including age-old methods, esotericists often discover hidden mystical abilities and lore other spellcasters overlook in their more traditional or forward-looking studies. Although usually considered eccentric, esotericists thrive on sharing knowledge related to the study of magic. Venturesome esotericists seek out sources of magic and delve into old lore rooted in such magic; the esotericists of the Arcanamirium might be the best source of information on Lost Golarion and Absalom Station’s Starstone in the galaxy.
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Source Character Operations Manual pg. 101
The complex web of corporate interests underpins most aspects of daily life in the Pact Worlds, extending far beyond simple commerce into governmental policy, military action, and interpersonal relationships. If conspiracy theorists are to be believed, corporations run the galaxy from behind the scenes by lobbying, depositing credits into the right accounts or hands, and knowing exactly which politicians to leverage and when. But corporate interests frequently conflict, and intense rivalries spring up between companies competing within the same market. Sometimes, corporate bigwigs can’t do their own dirty work, whether it’s because they don’t have time or because they don’t want their hands in something that’s downright illegal. That’s when they call in an espionage specialist.
Espionage specialists are company spies or clandestine agents trusted by corporate management to successfully complete sensitive tasks with the utmost discretion. These specialists most often work for seedy corporations with amoral leadership, notably Arabani Arms Ltd., the Aspis Consortium, and especially House Zeizerer on Apostae, but they can be found on the payroll of hundreds of companies throughout the Pact Worlds and beyond. Some of these specialists are freelancers. These well-trained individuals primarily concern themselves with assignments designed to undermine rival corporations. Common missions include infiltrating a target’s headquarters or warehouses, stealing technological schematics or prototypes, impersonating or even assassinating opponent executives, or keeping close watch on the competition.
Espionage specialists excel at slipping into a false identity and creating forged documentation to match. Many espionage specialists prefer to avoid violence in favor of stealthy, untraceable intrusions behind enemy lines, but they are trained in combat and capable of dealing precise damage to those they catch off guard.
Envoys and operatives gravitate toward this archetype. However, other characters can become espionage specialists, especially individuals with a talent for crafting disguises, hacking, or engaging in other forms of subterfuge.
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Source Starfinder Enhanced pg. 97
Throughout the Pact Worlds and Veskarium, divine champions are empowered by the gods with destiny.
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Source Ports of Call pg. 93
When preparing for a scientific or academic excursion, an ounce of preparation is worth a pound of unexpected complications. Expedition chroniclers work to ensure that their exploratory ventures are successful and fruitful, putting in the legwork to ensure that discoveries are properly documented, necessary equipment is procured and carefully packed ahead of time, and all the appropriate bureaucrats have received properly filed paperwork well in advance. When an expedition chronicler is a part of a crew, everyone else’s jobs become that much easier. Some chroniclers try to include expository text and turn their reports into thrilling tales of their adventures, while others take a fact‑driven approach that reads like a textbook. Some chroniclers are driven by a desire for fame, fortune, and glory, and use their writings as a way to build their own reputation—and possibly somewhat inflate their tales in the recounting.
A good expedition chronicler employs critical thinking skills, creative problem solving, and careful foresight to assist their colleagues to the best of their abilities. A chronicler knows that the overall success of the mission requires close collaboration and a little luck, and they’re just as happy to help their companions succeed with a well-timed assist or specific item as they are to succeed themselves. A chronicler should also be unafraid—or at least willing—to be in the thick of things, the better to be an eyewitness to unfolding events. To a well-prepared expedition chronicler, death can be avoided with a few additional contingencies, but to miss critical details or a valuable piece of information by hiding in the back is a true tragedy.
While members of any species can learn to become an expedition chronicler, the osharu culture of cooperative exploration and discovery means that many of the best practices held by chroniclers were pioneered by osharu adventurers, and their innate sense of caution and tendency for meticulous documentation make them natural logistical organizers. A disproportionate number of lashuntas also train as chroniclers due to their love of learning and the number of expeditionary opportunities that Castrovelian universities provide. A number of kasathas take on the role of chronicler, as these duties and responsibilities overlap considerably with the storytelling dedications of the goddess Talavet. Exploratory groups such as the Starfinder Society and the Aspis Consortium pay top credits for their members to receive operational training on Pabaq, and even military organizations such as the Veskarium or the Hellknights sometimes send quartermasters to get certification in expeditionary readiness from one of Jhavom’s universities.
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Source Character Operations Manual pg. 102
When a sensitive criminal enterprise goes wrong, it’s time to call a fixer—the person who makes those problems go away. Sometimes doing so means the fixer gets their hands dirty with work no one else is willing or trained to do, such as cleaning a crime scene and hiding the evidence before it can come to light. At other times, being a fixer means being a master of data manipulation who can cover up a virtual trail, create a new identity, grease the right cogs in the bureaucratic machine, or contact other serious professionals, such as assassins, thieves, smugglers, and all manner of other specialists willing to do illegal jobs. Fixers also know how to smuggle goods and people, moving them before authorities can catch up with seizure orders or arrest warrants.
A good fixer is often in some other business with little plausible connection to criminal enterprises. The fixer themself doesn’t become involved in active criminal jobs, so no links exist to tie the fixer to the crime. Instead, the fixer shows up only when needed to fix a specific situation, then goes back to their normal life. Law enforcement shouldn’t be able to place the fixer within a list of suspects, much less link the fixer to a crime scene.
Conversely, fixers can be famous in the criminal world for their specialty skills, sometimes going by a working name. Reliable fixers are often on the payroll of mob bosses, gang leaders, and other criminal syndicates, although they are just as often employees of legitimate organizations. The fixer works on retainer and is on call for those inevitable late nights when events go sideways. Some fixers are no stranger to violence, though such tactics are seldom a fixer’s first recourse, since they draw attention and leave a mess the fixer inevitably has to clean up. Instead, the fixer solves most problems with skill, cunning, plausible deniability, and, when needed, lots of other people’s dirty money.
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Source Character Operations Manual pg. 103
A free trader is an independent contractor who buys, sells, and makes a living hauling freight. Most free traders own or work on a starship, buying surplus commodities on the cheap and traveling to distant worlds where those same commodities command good prices. Free traders sometimes band together into a small merchant company, with members acting as guards, engineers, and other specialists organized under a single manager. Everyone shares the profits. If they are lucky, one good cargo run make them rich, but for most, it’s a hardknock life that means barely scraping by.
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Source Starfinder #51: Into the Dataverse pg. 49
In the same way that conventional hackers manipulate the code of computer networks and security systems, hacktivists use their skills to operate and modify smaller devices on the fly in support of a cause. Often acting to expose corruption or facilitate freedom of information and technology, hacktivists flock to wherever they see oppression and sometimes act outside the boundaries of law.
Because of the clandestine nature of their typical methods, hacktivists are difficult to find. Digital manuals circulating around certain infosphere sites include Hack the System! and The Neo-Hacker’s Guide to Fun and Profit, acting as training tools for burgeoning hacktivists. Servers show a marked increase in downloads of these files whenever an organization acts in a particularly reprehensible manner, but due to their illegality, only those with a measure of hacking skill can hope to find them.
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Source Starfinder #50: Clockwork Demons pg. 46
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and among those of the Church of Triune’s faithful, you’re a special agent, capable of undertaking all manner of tasks. Whether an ordained part of the clergy or an independent agent working on behalf of the faithful, there are times when the guiding hand must become a fist.
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Source Starfinder #23: Hive of Minds pg. 44
An instinctive metaphysicist is a creature exposed, whether overtly or subconsciously, to the effects of one or more mindscapes during the course of their life. Unlike fully fledged psychics (like phrenic adepts or psychic warriors), an instinctive metaphysicist might not have any innate psychic potential, instead unlocking their abilities through continued exposure to psychic sources. An instinctive metaphysicist could be of a creature of any background or class who has just learned to harness their mental focus to mold the existence of psychic mindscapes to suit their needs.
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Source Character Operations Manual pg. 104
The galaxy is full of talented scholars, navigators, technicians, and other highly skilled individuals, but effective teaching requires its own mastery. An instructor is not merely a master of their craft; they have dedicated themselves to passing their wisdom on to the next generation of scholars, navigators, technicians, and others.
Numerous organizations throughout the galaxy have such masters among their ranks imparting their knowledge. Many an astrophysicist’s career has been encouraged by professors at Solar University in Stellacuna, and the elite fighting units of Kamora are instructed by the best that city-state has to offer. Corporations have also been known to poach instructors from classrooms and research labs with the promise of higher salaries and greater flexibility. Biotech firms in particular attempt to lure teachers from Bretheda’s Sui Saolus Academy to consult on classified projects, after the would-be instructor agrees to stringent nondisclosure terms and meets all security requirements.
Other instructors eschew academies and corporations alike, preferring to travel the galaxy with an apprentice or small group of students and lend their talents where needed. For those wishing to become instructors in their field, a credentialed university program is not the only path to becoming a respected teacher. Notable practitioners in countless fields have sought their own reclusive mentors or gained their mastery from years of hard-won experience.
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Source Junker's Delight pg. 59
Some spellcasters work their magic through high-tech computers or objects of mystical significance, but you have found a kind of arcane power in the mundane. Scrap metal and inert electronics are your paints, and reality is your canvas.
The secrets of junk magic are especially common on Akiton, where junkomancers defend struggling settlements and nomadic wanderers alike.
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Source Starfinder #37: The White Glove Affair pg. 51
Kalistocrats have comprehensive knowledge of trade laws, supreme negotiation skills, and a wide network of business connections in most places they dock. They also have a unique and dizzying array of taboos and superstitions from their faith that intrigue those they meet. Despite these requisites, or perhaps in spite of them, Kalistocrats take pride in their beliefs system and readily share their dietary restrictions, prayer habits, and exercise regimen with anybody they deem worthy of their time.
For some Kalistocrats, constant and diligent meditation has enhanced their mind’s power over their body, granting them extra strength, speed, or stamina. Others claim their special diet has purged all toxins from their system and granted them a supernatural ability to fend off poisons and diseases. Still more assert that their diligent study and memorization of their texts have improved their understanding of laws and commerce, boosting their ability to turn friendly connections into trading empires.
Whatever the commonality may be, one key truth is that each Kalistocrat is on their own personal path of enlightenment. Anybody can walk the path of a prophet, and no two are likely the same.
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Source Starfinder Enhanced pg. 98
Lightsplayers carefully study lasers, circuits, crystals, and scanners. They analyze the esoteric equations of invocations and scrutinize the root-code of holographic demons. In a universe where myth and metal coexist, lightsplayers have taken the first step in truly reverse engineering magic itself with the technology best suited for the task: holograms. Whether pumping up the crowd at a Strawberry Machine Cake concert on Songbird Station, giving a heartwarming color show for the Town’s End charitable fund on Akiton, or using their tech to throw law enforcement off their trail after a daring heist in the heart of Absalom Station, lightsplayers know it’s only the first step in the ascendency of technology to one day replace all that magic can do.
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Source Starfinder #30: Puppets Without Strings pg. 50
The magic academies in the Pact Worlds, Near Space, and the Vast take many forms, and each has a distinct culture. Some, like the Arcanamirium or the Eclipse Academy, emphasize time-honored traditions that have lasted for centuries or even millennia. Others, like the Preita Institute of Technology, are quicker to embrace new ways to teach, learn, and work magic. A prospective student of one of these schools has a hard decision to make: they might choose a campus based on family history and connections, the chance to work with a famous faculty member, job placement rates after graduation, or the financial scholarship help an academy can offer. Some students, of course, throw all academic qualifications out the window and just pick a school where they can have a good time—like SENOT or Nerundel Halls.
An academy student must balance the demands of classroom instruction and homework with the need for a personal life. There are always new books to read, new assignments to complete, and a new round of examinations. But for many students, this is the first opportunity they’ve had to live on their own, apart from family, and the temptation to ignore all rules and regulations can be difficult to resist. They’re assisted by academy staff, who watch over and nurture students, ensuring that day-to-day operations of the academy run smoothly, and by faculty, who challenge students every day and prepare them for an unpredictable future. At a good magic academy, even the most wayward student is exposed to a galaxy’s worth of new ideas, experiences, and methods.
The career of an academy student ends relatively quickly; some programs last less than a year, though most continue for two or four. Typically, a student authors a final thesis that leads to graduation. Some alumni, however, choose to continue their research even after graduation.
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Source Starfinder Enhanced pg. 99
From major cultural phenomena like brutaris and eshara to lesser-known competitions such as dunenduro and starlance, organized sports leagues continue to thrive in both the Pact Worlds and the Veskarium despite the massive popularity of bloodsports and vehicle races. Participants in these athletic tests can easily apply their skills outside their arenas thanks to their reflexes and physical prowess, but so too can the coaches who bring these personalities together and forge them into a cohesive team. A major league coach is equipped with a variety of tricks and tips to impart to their team that can function on or off the field of play, including in real-world confrontations.
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Source Near Space pg. 147
With innumerable species populating the Pact Worlds, Near Space, and the worlds beyond, conflicts, disagreements, and misunderstandings inevitably arise between groups. To help mitigate any major consequences to such disputes, many take it upon themselves to act as peacemakers. These mediators are sometimes simply well-intentioned, skilled individuals who wish to put their talents to good use and help others around them. Other times, mediators receive specialized training to help deal with conflicts in formalized or professional settings. Regardless of their specific methods, most mediators learn to tap into an innate emotional and psychological understanding of others to help act as efficient arbitrators.
Most classes can make suitable mediators, but many tend to be envoys and mystics. Whatever their original training and skills, mediators can be quite helpful when navigating a range of difficult or tense situations, such as mediating peaceful diplomatic talks, facilitating corporate mergers, or negotiating surrender after a deadly battle. As for which species tend toward arbitration roles, mediator’s empathic abilities can be difficult to develop intentionally, but a number of species such as brenneris, damais, and vlakas are often particularly emotionally attuned, making them natural mediators.
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Source Character Operations Manual pg. 105
Many medical professionals staff hospitals and clinics, often specializing in a particular form of ailment or injury. Others are doctors for hire, working for rich or secretive clients with rare conditions or a history of putting themselves in harm’s way. Some medics dedicate their lives to helping the poor, while a few make a living providing care to criminals with deep pockets.
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Source Starfinder Enhanced pg. 100
From valiant battle steeds to adorable starship mascots, creature companions are ubiquitous throughout the cosmos. The finest menagerie managers have an empathetic connection with alien critters of all shapes and sizes. They can keep and care for many creatures at the same time without neglect while also teaching them new tricks not often seen from pets or mounts. A menagerie manager can also accelerate training regimens beyond the skill of the average trainer or rider, resulting in companions who respond to commands with greater efficiency than others.
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Source Starfinder Core Rulebook pg. 128
While many mystics and technomancers are trained in psychic traditions and terminology, there are also many characters who gain mental powers outside the context of those spellcasting classes. Phrenic adepts are able to draw on psychic abilities to a much greater extent than most psychic races such as lashuntas and shirrens, but their abilities lack the full depth and breadth of a spellcaster’s power. They thus use their supernatural talents to augment other options rather than drawing on them as their primary source of power.
The majority of phrenic adepts are lashuntas and shirrens, though members of other races can also develop such psychic abilities. It is unusual for phrenic adepts to also be mystics or technomancers, as most spellcasters channel all their eldritch power into their class training, but it is not unknown.
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Source Character Operations Manual pg. 106
Powered armor jockeys go far beyond simply wearing powered armor—they learn how to get the best performance possible out of any suit of powered armor they wear. Most are deeply informed about armor manufacturers, construction techniques, and field repair, though a few just have an uncanny intuition with these armors. Powered armor jockeys are rare, and those who meet swap tales of improvements they’ve made, shortcuts they’ve discovered, or battles in which they persevered thanks to their armor’s remarkable resilience.
Most powered armor jockeys are soldiers or vanguards. Powered armor jockeys of other classes exist, such as mechanics who appreciate powered armor’s technical sophistication.
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Source Drift Crisis Case Files pg. 56
You don’t possess any true psychic abilities, but you have the next best thing: a talent for convincing people that you do. Whether you were born with great empathy for reading people or learned by watching other charlatans perform, you have a gift, just not a psychic one. Although your skills might be viewed with disdain by those with real psychic abilities and dismissed as petty fraud by the general public, your knack for cold reading and deception always comes in handy when working with organizations such as the Eyeswide Agency.
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Source Drift Crisis Case Files pg. 57
You use your psychic talent for detective work.
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Source Redshift Rally pg. 58
With training, anyone can learn to drive a vehicle or pilot a starship, but only the most skilled pilots can turn an everyday ride or simple flight into an exhilarating art form. Racers are exceptionally skilled pilots who push their vessels to the limit in the never-ending quest to drive faster, dive deeper, and fly higher. They’re the professional drivers and hotshot military dogfighters, the daredevil test pilots and back-alley speedsters, the demolition derby participants and stunt drivers. Whoever they are and whatever they do, racers compete throughout the galaxy, from the Pact Worlds to the Vast. When it comes to racing, they’re the best of the best.
A racer might find themselves as part of a regular starship crew to pay off debts incurred after losing a race or as a way to finance a shiny prototype engine for their personal ride. Alternatively, they might just enjoy the thrill of traveling to new and dangerous places to put their skills to the test. In any case, a racer is an excellent addition to any crew that engages in starship or vehicle combat on a regular basis.
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Source Angels of the Drift #4 pg. 24
Born of a fusion of ancient kevri and loqan traditions, monks of the runescrawled maintain the barrier that keeps the wondrous mists of Kevquan saturated on the planet’s surface and clear from its technological skytop cities. Just as these wards are a fusion of kevri technology and loqan magic, the runescrawled etched their bodies with loqan runes and implant kevri augmentations into their skin, seeking to prefect themselves physically and spiritually by mastering these diametric forces. Runescralwed reavers are masters of marital arts that have learned to channel loqan’s mists through their body’s spiritual pathways, enhancing their abilities. While Kevqan is most famous for these traditions, the idea of using technology to channel magic througbn one’s body is hardly unique to any one culture, and practices similar to the runescralwed reavers of Loqan can be found among draeliks, kasathas, pahtras, and countless other species who value magic in a modern world
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Source Starfinder #38: Crash and Burn pg. 54
The job of a safety inspector is to ensure that a workplace is free of hazards, whether that be a short in a wire that might give a nasty shock or a shoddy support structure that could threaten to bring down an entire building. Most safety inspectors are skilled engineers, and their expertise can also apply to finding and disarming deadly traps.
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Source Galactic Magic pg. 40
Although most spellcasters define their abilities broadly by the source of power, such as a mystical connection or exploitation of technomagical secrets, some magic-users focus on a specific school of magic. Through such specialization, they can exceed their chosen spells’ expectations to create amazing effects.
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Source Pact Worlds pg. 185
With the advent of the Absalom Pact, the famed Triaxian dragonriders of the Dragon Legion took to the stars and became known as the Skyfire Legion, an elite and highly principled mercenary group that sells its protection to colonists and corporations operating beyond the Pact Worlds, where the Stewards cannot protect them. While many Skyfire legionnaires form a near-telepathic bond with dragonkin copilots, Skyfire centurions train to strengthen this connection even further, leading their allies and facilitating teamwork almost as if the members shared a single mind.
The Skyfire Legion has several training facilities throughout the Pact Worlds where centurions and other legionnaires can hone their skills. Every legionnaire trains with a partner, and centurions undergo additional, stricter regimens to help focus their minds and toughen up their bodies.
Not all members of the Skyfire Legion are centurions, and not all centurions have a dragonkin ally; the same teamwork techniques can be used with any intelligent creatures, even mechanical ones. Characters of all classes can become successful centurions, though most mystics and solarians lack the piloting ability to make full use of centurion abilities. Soldiers gain many combat feats, which makes them terrific centurions, while mechanics who choose their drones as their bonded allies can customize the drones for seamless teamwork.
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Source Starfinder #47: Nightmare Scenario pg. 45
For the scientifically minded, the study of sleep processes is a nonmagical way to connect with Desna. Some sleep researchers are medical doctors working in sleep centers with a focus on the science of sleep, particularly the REM cycle; others combine mysticism and psychology to analyze and interpret dreams. Though the two types of dream researchers rarely agree when it comes to their methods and conclusions, they have a similar goal of improving the lives of others by unlocking the mysteries of sleep.
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Source Starfinder #30: Puppets Without Strings pg. 51
The spellcasters who teach at military magic academies such as the Karchizara Combat College are known as spell sergeants, a title that is also extended to their trainees, students who specialize in integrating magic with high-intensity personal combat. Spell sergeants lead the way in hand-to-hand combat, supplementing their chosen weapon with potent spells; their mobility allows them to penetrate enemy lines or quickly fall back to rescue an ally in trouble.
It’s easy to dismiss spell sergeants as brutal thugs, uninterested in the finer points of magical theory and practice, but this is untrue. In fact, spell sergeants prize their own education and are voracious consumers of information, constantly seeking out and evaluating the latest tactical innovations in magical military combat. When off duty, a spell sergeant might be practicing or carousing at a military bar, but they’re just as likely to be found buried in a book.
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Source Pact Worlds pg. 186
The traditions of knighthood have survived the millennia. Numerous orders, including (but certainly not limited to) the Knights of Golarion and the Hellknight Orders of the Chain, Eclipse, Furnace, Gate, Nail, Pike, and Scourge, are extremely active in the Pact Worlds and beyond. These highly trained and renowned warriors are star knights, defenders of specific causes championed by their orders and ready to enforce their oaths with sword, plasma cannon, and even magic when necessary.
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Source Pact Worlds pg. 188
Starfinder data jockeys are the Starfinder Society’s foremost experts on the analysis, architecture, manipulation, and retrieval of data. They live for the thrill of exploration and joy of discovery, delving into databases and networks much like a field agent ventures into ancient ruins. Most data jockeys are part of the Dataphiles faction (for more on Starfinder Society factions, see Appendix 2 of the Starfinder Society Roleplaying Guild Guide).
Because of their affinity with computers and technology, most data jockeys are envoys, mechanics, operatives, or technomancers, but members of virtually any class can become successful data jockeys.
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Source Starfinder Core Rulebook pg. 129
Members of the Starfinder Society (see page 479) spend a considerable amount of time, money, and effort exploring places their fellow Pact Worlds citizens have never been. Whether they’re investigating the ruins of ancient cultures, worlds with no modern technology, or civilizations with no prior contact with the Pact Worlds, Starfinders are always pushing the boundaries of explored space in a quest for snippets of knowledge about the edges of history before and after the Gap. When possible, these expeditions are preceded by, or at least accompanied by, a Starfinder forerunner who is specifically trained in exploration, scouting, and survival.
Not all members of the Starfinder Society are forerunners, and not all forerunners take this archetype. The archetype represents an expert who has spent years studying with and apprenticing under more experienced forerunners.
The majority of forerunners are envoys, mystics, and operatives, though forerunners who have levels in other classes also exist.
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Source Starfinder #47: Nightmare Scenario pg. 45
Starsingers are skilled with weapon and song, and many of these graceful warriors are blessed by Desna. Starsingers can come from any walk of life and hail from every corner of the galaxy. They lack formal organization, rules of membership, or traditions, but some individuals choose to work in squads or to mentor a younger starsinger. Each starsinger uses their own eclectic blend of martial arts and magic to fight for freedom, protect beauty and innocence, and spread music wherever they roam. Some starsingers are celebrities, while others fight in the shadows to protect their communities or to champion personal ideals. Most starsingers develop a heroic persona to conceal their true identities and often carry Desna’s iconic weapon, the starknife, into battle.
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Source Character Operations Manual pg. 107
The Starforgers are a guild famous for working with starmetals. Based out of Absalom Station, their skill at weaving starmetal into their work is famous across the galaxy, and they’re often at the forefront of starmetal research and development.
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Source Pact Worlds pg. 189
The Stewards are interplanetary peacekeepers who enforce the Absalom Pact, which binds the Pact Worlds together in a tenuous alliance. Based in Absalom Station, the Stewards police space lines outside the territories of planetary governments, act as advisors and mediators in disputes, and end budding military conflicts with overwhelming force when necessary. The Stewards are as much diplomats as they are police, though violence is always a last resort for them. Because of the Stewards’ dual role, their training includes conflict-resolution techniques, combat techniques, and techniques that combine the two approaches.
The majority of Steward officers are envoys with combat training or soldiers with diplomatic training, though solarians also make terrific Steward officers.
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Source Starfinder #9: The Rune Drive Gambit pg. 52
Ops Stewards undertaking special missions often have to gain access to sensitive information, protected stores, or specific individuals. Sometimes, this infiltration has to be subtle so the target, or those protecting it, remain unaware of the threat until it’s too late. Stewards infiltrators learn how to engage in longterm undercover roles and quick, heist-style incursions.
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Source Starfinder #9: The Rune Drive Gambit pg. 53
Stewards work well in teams. However, some Stewards have to work alone or with non-Stewards. These Stewards, called “stalwarts” by their comrades, undertake special courses to improve their self-sufficiency.
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Source Starfinder Enhanced pg. 101
Spacefarers living the “way of the gun” have been a popular trope in holovids and vidgames ever since travel between the stars became possible, as has the use of technology to emulate (or more often, imitate) true magic. The hybrid blend of magic and technology provides an avenue for those without spellcasting ability of their own to hold strong against mystic forces out in the Vast. Thaumaturgic triggers take advantage of readily-available magic in the form of spell gems, first destroying them to learn their magical code. Then, thaumaturgic triggers infuse technomagical runes into the housing of their firearms, letting them tap into this power to aid them in combat.
Classes without access to spellcasting are the most likely to seek out the way of the thaumaturgic trigger, sacrificing some of their versatility for the ability to boast greater fire control.
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Source Starfinder #38: Crash and Burn pg. 54
Union organizers are dedicated to making sure everyone gets treated fairly and works together. Even outside union situations, a union organizer knows how to direct the team to get results.
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