How do I create a medieval combatant in Starfinder?

[MonkeySage]

My players are about to visit a technologically backwards planet, and one of the encounters they might face while there is a group of highwaymen. I looked at the combatant graft, and it just doesn't fit with that concept.

I feel like this would be easier if I just wrote it as a character sheet than treated these guys as npcs.

[Psyren]

The first step is actually choosing an intended CR and array rather than a graft. Could you describe what you did in more detail and why it doesn't fit what you're going for?

[MonkeySage]

Think I may have chosen too high a CR for this encounter. Thinking in terms of medieval tech, I doubt highly that these guys would have access to protection from energy attacks- like from lasers, etc.

I meant to say "Combatant Array", for some reason typed Graft instead.

These guys are "soldiers", bandits working for the Queen. The Queen's a drug dealing space pirate who used her ship to terrorize these primitive people into submission. She employs the bandits to attack visitors to her kingdom, though normally those visitors aren't space travellers.

These guys also have a retractable venomous spur in their hands, which causes dexterity poisoning. I'm new to starfinder, and trying to figure out what the DC should be for the poison.

[Psyren]

So the bandits are local residents, i.e. wearing medieval/archaic gear?

The NPC creation rules assume you're making typical Starfinder foes rather than enemies wearing primitive gear. If you stick rigidly to the stats in the array instead of modifying them accordingly (see pg. 127 sidebar) then it's not going to make sense. I would start with the regular array and then nerf their AC and damage accordingly, as well as making their attacks count as archaic, unless she's outfitting them with high-tech equipment.

You still haven't mentioned what CR you're going for, but I would expect the bandits (at least on their own) to be somewhere below the party's APL unless encountered in large numbers.

[MonkeySage]

I'm not seeing the side bar. Also, I'm going for CR 3 as individuals. They are going up against a party of 4 level 7 characters.

But yes, t hey are local residents, and they aren't outfitted by the Queen. They are using swords, crossbows, and mail armor, and use the venomous spur as a last resort. They are mammalian humanoids, almost identical to humans- save for the fact that they lay eggs and possess venom.

Speaking of venom, what should the DC be for it?

[Psyren]

I'm not seeing the side bar.

It's the one that says "these arrays are guidelines and you should feel free to make any changes that make sense for your campaign." The title is "Everything Is Optional."


Speaking of venom, what should the DC be for it?

Do you mean the biotech implants with that name (CRB 212)? The DC for those are given as 10 + 1/2 level + Con mod. Or are these armor attachments?


Also, I'm going for CR 3 as individuals. They are going up against a party of 4 level 7 characters.

But yes, t hey are local residents, and they aren't outfitted by the Queen. They are using swords, crossbows, and mail armor, and use the venomous spur as a last resort. They are mammalian humanoids, almost identical to humans- save for the fact that they lay eggs and possess venom.

Wait, are these like Platypus-Men? :smalltongue:

Anyway, archaic armor is a term used in the CRB but it hasn't been defined yet. My suggestion would be to start with the armor values from the array and then slap on a penalty to the KAC/EAC to represent this quality and how weak such armors would be against the sci-fi weaponry your players will be using.

[MonkeySage]

It's the one that says "these arrays are guidelines and you should feel free to make any changes that make sense for your campaign." The title is "Everything Is Optional."


Do you mean the biotech implants with that name (CRB 212)? The DC for those are given as 10 + 1/2 level + Con mod. Or are these armor attachments?



Wait, are these like Platypus-Men? :smalltongue:

Anyway, archaic armor is a term used in the CRB but it hasn't been defined yet. My suggestion would be to start with the armor values from the array and then slap on a penalty to the KAC/EAC to represent this quality and how weak such armors would be against the sci-fi weaponry your players will be using.

They are monotremes, yes. The spur is part of their body. XD

My players are using mostly sci-fi tech. The party technomancer uses an ordinary knife to fight when he's used all of his spells. :P

Ok, here's what I've got for the Venom.

Venom
Type Poison (Injury); Save Fortitude, see above
Track Dexterity; Frequency 1/round for 6 rounds
Effect progression track is Sluggish-Stiffened-Staggered-Immobile. The immobile state functions as the end state.
Cure 1 save

[Bucky]

Anyway, archaic armor is a term used in the CRB but it hasn't been defined yet. My suggestion would be to start with the armor values from the array and then slap on a penalty to the KAC/EAC to represent this quality and how weak such armors would be against the sci-fi weaponry your players will be using.

Sci-fi weapons means there can be some room to find reasons why the armor might be somewhat effective, particularly since the weapons are optimized to deal with futuristic designs. It might be shiny enough to partly disperse incoming lasers by reflection, disperse attacks with an electric component by acting as a Faraday cage, or have a large surface area for dispersing heat away from the wearer.

Same with the primitive weapons - anti-bullet/laser armor isn't necessarily designed to stop a big hammer.

[Psyren]

That poison seems fine and yes, I would use the DC formula for the implanted version of venom spurs from the page i referenced.


Sci-fi weapons means there can be some room to find reasons why the armor might be somewhat effective, particularly since the weapons are optimized to deal with futuristic designs. It might be shiny enough to partly disperse incoming lasers by reflection, disperse attacks with an electric component by acting as a Faraday cage, or have a large surface area for dispersing heat away from the wearer.

Same with the primitive weapons - anti-bullet/laser armor isn't necessarily designed to stop a big hammer.

Right - so it could provide at least some protection (hence me saying to apply a penalty rather than remove all benefit entirely.)

The idea is to start with what's on the table and then reduce it a bit so that it makes sense given their relatively primitive gear. That would be fine for dealing with whatever lives on the planet, not so much for taking on an elite squad of PCs.

In particular, I would expect their EAC to be notcieably lower than their KAC using medieval gear. EAC is roughly analogous to touch AC in PF, and archaic armor would lack the kinds of ablative designs or shielding that technological armors would.