Starfinder’s Jedi Sure Hit Different in 2E – The Solarian Preview
One of the best things about Starfinder is their Jedi/Destiny hybrid class, the Solarian, especially in the coming Starfinder 2E.
People just want to be space wizards and space knights. And some people want to be both at the same time. It’s something that Star Wars keenly understood. Destiny and Destiny 2 know what’s up. But some of the best times in sci-fi are when you pull out your sword and armor and cast some spells.
That might sound glib, but I mean it with full sincerity. This is why I was excited to see Paizo preview Starfinder 2E‘s take on that fantasy: the Solarian.
Solarians blend bits of Jedi mysticism and laser swordplay with Destiny aesthetics and sensibilities. I’m sure there are other parallels to be drawn as well, but those two are both recent and sharp enough to let you know what you’re in for. If you want to unleash the magic power inherent in photons and gravitons grounded in a blend of science fiction technobabble, this is where it’s at. Let’s take a look at the new Solarian.
Starfinder 2E – Solarian Preview
First of all, here’s the Solarian’s whole deal and their signature cycle, if you are unfamiliar:
The stars guide the planets with gravity, create life with light and heat, and utterly consume worlds in supernovas and black holes. You understand that these acts of creation and destruction are not opposites, but rather two parts of a natural, dualistic cycle. You seek to be an agent of that cycle, an enlightened warrior with the ability to manipulate the forces of the stars themselves.
Light creates, gravity destroys, and the two are interwoven. For 2E Solarians, you can be attuned to Photons, Gravitons, or neither. However, the cosmic cycle plays a much more active role in the class. Starting with the biggest change, Solarians no longer have to choose between weapon or armor. Now they can manifest a Solar Nimbus (defense), Solar Flare (ranged), and a Solar Weapon (melee) starting at level 1, choosing whatever they need.
They do decide if their Solar arrangement is more focused on Photons or Gravitons for the purpose of gaining Revelations, which are abilities that “interact with the different states of attunement and, in many cases, interact with their targets’ Hit Point totals, enemy positioning, the Solarian’s mobility, and so on.”
In other words, your attunement works differently now:
Gone are the days of tracking attunement points: you’re either attuned to gravitons, photons, or neither. Furthermore, we’ve introduced a new type of ability: those with the cycle trait, which—you guessed it—cycle your attunement! Using a cycle ability while graviton-attuned means that you resolve that ability (applying any additional effects from being graviton-attuned), and then immediately become photon-attuned. If you want to be graviton-attuned again, you’ll need to use another cycle ability or take the Attune action, which attunes you to your favored attunement state. If you want to play a solarian who does lots of attunement swapping and has greater attunement flexibility, you’ll want the “balanced” solarian arrangement, because (among their other fun abilities) the Attune action lets you pick either graviton or photon!
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This should be very exciting for Solarian players, who have been a little more rigid than I’m sure they would like. Of course, we will not see the Solarian’s final shape until the end of the playtest. You can find out more on Paizo’s blog, or on the big playtest book coming out in August!
