Starfinder Conversion

While the Starfinder Roleplaying Game is very similar to this game, there are some key differences. The following guide is meant to be used in conjunction with the Legacy Conversion chapter of the Starfinder Core Rulebook to help you navigate converting your Spheres of Might character over to the Starfinder Roleplaying Game, or create a new Starfinder character that uses combat sphere abilities.

Terminology

Attack Action: Just like in Pathfinder, usage of this term in Spheres of Might for Starfinder refers to attacks made as a standard action. Abilities requiring an attack action cannot be used when using a full-round action to make a full attack.

CMB/CMD: Starfinder does not use CMB/CMD for performing combat maneuvers. Whenever a talent or ability would grant a bonus or impose a penalty to a creature’s CMB to perform a maneuver, it instead adds that bonus or penalty to its melee attack roll to perform the designated maneuver. Whenever a talent or ability would give a creature a bonus or penalty to their CMD against a maneuver, it instead applies that bonus to their KAC against attacks made to perform that maneuver.

Concealment: Whenever a talent grants partial concealment, it grants 20% concealment. Total concealment means the same thing in both systems, granting a 50% miss chance and preventing some types of attacks.

Critical Hits: Unlike in Pathfinder, all weapons in Starfinder threaten a critical hit on a natural 20 only, and automatically confirm if that attack is equal to or greater than the target’s EAC or KAC (as appropriate), allowing you to roll your damage twice and apply any special critical effects the weapon possesses. As such, most talents that change the weapon’s critical threat range or critical multiplier are generally not appropriate in Starfinder.

Difficult Terrain: While difficult terrain does not exist in Starfinder, abilities which can create it in Spheres of Might work just like in Pathfinder; any square that has been turned into difficult terrain counts as two squares of movement.

Heal Skill: The Heal skill does not exist in Starfinder. Whenever a talent or ability references the Heal skill, it should reference the Medicine skill instead.

Immediate Actions: Immediate actions do not exist in Starfinder. Whenever a combat talent or class ability allows you to do something as an immediate action, it is instead done as a reaction.

Light Weapons: There is not a light weapons category in Starfinder. Whenever a talent or ability references light weapons, this instead applies to weapons with the operative special property.

Move Action: In Pathfinder, a 5-ft. step is a non-action that doesn’t count against your action economy, but in Starfinder a 5-ft. step is a type of move action. Whenever a combat talent or class ability in Spheres of Might allows you to take a 5-ft. step, it does not take up your move action but otherwise follows the normal rules, allowing you to move 5 feet without provoking an attack of opportunity. If an ability has a conditional trigger that happens when you take a 5-ft. step, follow the normal rules for 5 foot steps in Starfinder, using your move action as normal.

Reactions and Attacks of Opportunity: In Starfinder, attacks of opportunity are a subset of a new type of action called reactions. Normally you can only make one reaction or attack of opportunity per turn, but in Spheres of Might many abilities assume that you can make multiple attacks of opportunity and have access to feats such as Combat Reflexes or Muscular Reflexes. Class features and combat sphere abilities that grant additional attacks of opportunity, such as the Guardian sphere’s Swift Reflexes, work normally but no longer stack with other abilities that grant additional attacks of opportunity. Instead of adding Combat Reflexes or Muscular Reflexes to Starfinder, use the following feat:

Rapid Reflexes (Combat)
Your combat experience allows you to react to openings more frequently in combat.
Benefit: During any round in which you do not take a full-round action, you may make 1 additional attack of opportunity, plus 1 for every 5 class levels you possess, though doing so costs you 1 point of Stamina for each additional attack taken. If your Stamina is reduced to 0, you cannot make an additional attack of opportunity. You do not gain additional uses of any other type of reaction.

Normal: A character without this feat can make only one attack of opportunity per round.

Steal: The Steal combat maneuver does not exist in Starfinder. Whenever a talent or ability references it, use the Pick Pocket function of Sleight of Hand instead.

Temporary Hit Points: Any talent that grants temporary hit points for an effect instead heals that many Stamina points, up to your normal maximum.

Touch Attacks: Touch attacks do not exist in Starfinder; whenever a talent or ability allows you to make a touch attack, you instead make an attack against their KAC with a +2 bonus.

Sphere-Specific Conversion Rules

There are several changes between Starfinder and Pathfinder that affect the use and function of several combat spheres. In addition to using a different skill list, Starfinder uses a different method of progressing damage as you level up than Pathfinder does. As a result, many combat talents which add to your damage are not appropriate for Starfinder. Several specific combat talents and sphere abilities are discussed below, including appropriate changes to update them for Starfinder.

General Changes

• Any character who gains combat talents may spend a combat talent to take the Improved Combat Maneuver feat.

Alchemy Sphere

• Any reference to the Craft (alchemy) skill should now refer to the Medicine skill.
• The Cluster Toss talent is not appropriate for Starfinder and should be removed from available options.

Athletics Sphere

• Any reference to the Climb or Swim skill should instead refer to the Athletics skill, and any reference to the Fly skill should instead refer to the Acrobatics skill unless noted otherwise. The Athletics sphere’s 5 packages should be reduced to 2; one that gives you the benefits of the (climb) and (swim) packages, and one which gives you the benefits of the (fly), (leap), and (run) packages.

Barrage Sphere

• Barrage sphere abilities cannot be used with any weapon that has the unwieldy special property.
• Barrage sphere abilities cannot be used while staggered.

Barroom Sphere

• The fragile special feature does not exist in Starfinder. Any reference to fragile weapons should be removed/ ignored.
• Since Starfinder does not include detailed rules for size category changes, whenever a talent refers to a change in weapon size category, refer to the damage entries in the improvised weapons rules at the beginning of this book.
• The Drunken Boxer talent should be changed to the following: “As long as you have the drunk status, you may deal lethal damage with your unarmed strikes. If you would normally be able to do this, you now deal an additional 1d6 damage with your unarmed strikes. You can expend your drunk status to deal an additional 1d6 damage, +1d6 for every 5 points of base attack bonus you possess, as a free action.”
• The Improvised Shield talent should be changed to the following: “As a free action, you may wield an improvised weapon as an improvised shield for 1 round. When wielded as an improvised shield, it deals 1d4 B damage, and grants a +1 shield bonus to your EAC and KAC, +1 for every 5 points of base attack bonus you possess. An improvised shield counts as a regular shield for the Shield sphere. Whenever a creature scores a critical hit against you while you are wielding an improvised shield in this manner, you may have the attack destroy the shield to change the critical hit into a normal hit.”
• Remove the second sentence of the Nice and Loose talent.
• Remove the Reeling Steps talent; its benefits do not translate to the Starfinder framework.
• Remove the second paragraph of the Shatter talent.

Beastmastery Sphere

• The Beastmastery sphere’s functions are based on rules paradigms that are unique to this game and which do not extend to Starfinder. As such, this sphere is not appropriate for use in the Starfinder Roleplaying Game, and should not be used. Martial traditions and archetypes which offer it as an option should have that option removed, and rules elements that do not offer a choice in using it should not be used.

Berserker Sphere

• Change the text of the Deathless talent to the following: “When you are reduced to 0 hit points, you no longer fall unconscious and are instead staggered. You continue to lose 1 Resolve point each round until you have at least 1 hit point, and you still die as normal if both your hit points and Resolve are reduced to 0.”
• Remove the Decapitate talent; its benefits do not translate to the Starfinder framework.
• Remove the Greater Sunder talent.
• The AC penalty imposed by the Leg-Smasher talent applies to both the target’s EAC and KAC.
• The Mage Masher talent applies to technological weapons as well as magic items.

Boxing Sphere

• Remove the Shadowboxing talent.

Brute Sphere

• The Overrun combat maneuver does not exist in Starfinder. Characters with the Brute sphere gain the special ability to perform this combat maneuver. Use the following rules when performing an overrun: “Overrun: As a standard action that can be taken during your move, or as part of a charge, you can attempt to overrun your target, moving through its square. You can only overrun an opponent who is no more than one size category larger than you. If your overrun attempt fails, you stop in the space directly in front of the opponent, or the nearest open space in front of the creature if there are other creatures occupying that space. When you attempt to overrun a target, it can choose to avoid you, allowing you to pass through its square without requiring an attack. If your target does not avoid you, make a melee attack roll against it’s KAC; if your maneuver is successful, you move through the target’s space. If your attack exceeds your opponent’s KAC by 5 or more, you move through the target’s space and the target is knocked prone. If the target has more than two legs, it gains a +2 to its KAC against your overrun attack roll for each additional leg it has.”
• Remove the Greater Brute talent.
• Remove the second sentence in Greater Shove as it no longer provides any benefit.

Dual Wielding Sphere

• Dual Wielding sphere talents and abilities cannot be used with weapons with the unwieldy property.
• Remove “(bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing only)” from the Asychronous Swing talent.
• Remove the Critical Follow Up talent.
• Focusing Defense grants a +1 bonus to your EAC and KAC instead of your AC and CMD.

Duelist Sphere

• Change the 4th and 5th sentences of the Bind Weapon talent to read as follows: “A creature whose weapon is bound may release the weapon as a free action or attempt to break the bind as a standard action by making a successful melee attack roll against your KAC. If the bound weapon is a natural attack or unarmed strike, the creature cannot choose to release the weapon and must succeed at a successful melee attack roll against your KAC to break the bind.”

Equipment Sphere

• Many weapons and options mentioned in the Equipment sphere do not exist in Starfinder. Since the changes between systems are too numerous to cover individually, the following general rules should be used: You may spend 1 combat talent on the Equipment sphere to gain proficiency in a weapon group you are not currently proficient with and gain the benefits of a discipline with similar thematic connections. For example, if you choose to gain proficiency in advanced melee weapons, you could choose to also gain the secondary benefits of the Knightly Training or Pikeman Training talents. Talents that only grant proficiency in diverse weapon groups, such as the Orc Heritage talent, generally will not be used in Starfinder.

Fencing Sphere

• The bonus damage from the Fencing sphere only applies to one-handed melee weapons and weapons with the operative special property.
• Expert Feint causes the target to lose their Dexterity bonus to their EAC and KAC.
• Remove the Fatal Opening talent

Lancer Sphere

• Change the third sentence of the impale ability to read as follows: “An impaled creature who attempts to cast a spell or use a spell-like ability must succeed at a Fortitude saving throw (DC 10 + your base attack bonus), or lose the spell.”
• Change the first sentence of the second paragraph in the Impale ability to read as follows: “This impalement may be broken when you lose control of the weapon used for the attack (such as by being disarmed), or by the impaled creature successfully making a melee attack roll against your KAC as a standard action.”

Open Hand Sphere

• Remove the Greater Trip talent.

Scoundrel Sphere

• Change the Swift Hands ability to read as follows: “When attempting a dirty trick maneuver, you may use your ranks in the Sleight of Hand skill plus your Dexterity bonus when determining your total attack bonus. Any bonuses that would normally apply to your attack rolls when attempting a dirty trick combat maneuver, such as the Improved Maneuver feat, are added to this roll.”
• Remove the Improved Grifting talent.
• The Switcheroo talent may be used with grenades and other weapons with the explode special property. Scout Sphere
• Since Knowledge checks do not exist in Starfinder, whenever the Scout sphere references a Knowledge check it instead refers to the Identify Creature function of the Engineering, Life Science, and Mysticism skills.

Sniper Sphere

• The bonus damage granted by the Sniper sphere only applies to weapons with the sniper special property, and only when you have used a move action to aim the weapon and fire it on the same turn.

Trap Sphere

• Whenever the Trap sphere references the Craft (traps) skill, it should instead refer to the Engineering skill. Wrestling Sphere
• Remove the Iron Grip talent.