STARFINDER 2E TECH CORE - So many nerdy classes man. Like, just nerds!

Starfinder 2e Tech Core is here, and apparently the answer to "How much weird science fiction nonsense can Paizo fit into one book?" is "Yes."

• Starfinder 2e: Tech Core (affiliate link)

Show Notes

In Part 1 of our Starfinder 2e Tech Core review, we dig into the player-facing side of the book, starting with new ancestries, moving into the Mechanic class, and then wandering through a pile of new archetypes, companions, augments, grenades, junk magic, and deeply questionable robot design choices.

The new ancestries immediately establish the tone. Living Holograms can be advertisements, mascots, emojis, or full cartoon characters with stretchy arms, which means your next Starfinder character can technically be a homicidal cereal mascot. We also get SROs, fully customizable sentient robots, Virthani, who are basically humans after somebody turned every slider up, and the Cyborg versatile heritage for anyone who looked at their biological body and decided they could improve it with more hardware.

Then we get to the Mechanic, which Ash immediately declares to be the "Chad Inventor." The Mechanic revolves around an exocortex and lets players choose between a drone, mine, or turret setup. Each option changes how the class plays, while the Modify ability lets Mechanics temporarily improve weapons, equipment, and their technological creations without burning through a limited daily resource.

The class also gets one of the most useful pieces of adventuring technology imaginable: the custom rig. It can hold and integrate multiple toolkits, giving the Mechanic a portable collection of hacking, crafting, infiltration, and repair tools without requiring them to carry half a hardware store on their back.

From there, we explore Tech Core's new archetypes.

The Augmented archetype is for anyone who believes the appropriate number of cybernetic implants is "more." Grenadier does exactly what the name suggests, although disposable explosives can get expensive fast. Junkomancer turns garbage into magical resources and is described as less of a school of magic and more of a vibe, which may be the most Starfinder sentence ever written.

Nanocyte returns from Starfinder 1e as an archetype rather than a full class, allowing characters to control clouds of nanobots that can create cover, attack enemies, repair objects, and generally solve problems through aggressive applications of microscopic technology.

Pharmacologist gives you the ability to manufacture medical consumables and literally shoot medicine into people with syringe guns, because apparently Starfinder decided healing needed more firearms.

Shield Ace makes you better at shields. It exists.

Vehicle Pilot, meanwhile, lets characters lean heavily into hoverboards and other vehicles, including the extremely important ability to use a hoverboard as a shield because sometimes game design achieves perfection.

We also take a quick look at Starfinder 2e robot companions and animal companions, including a robot that appears to be a railgun with legs, thumbs, and a knife for reasons nobody can adequately explain.

And this is only Part 1.

Key Takeaways

• Starfinder 2e Tech Core functions as a major core expansion, adding new ancestries, classes, archetypes, equipment, technology, and GM options.
• Living Holograms might be the most ridiculous new ancestry in the book, with options ranging from advertisements and mascots to cartoon characters with twenty-foot stretchy arms.
• SROs let players build highly customizable robot characters with modular upgrades, movement options, sensors, and physical modifications.
• Virthani are highly adaptable humanoids with strong sci-fi utility and excellent support for characters built around augmentations.
• The Cyborg versatile heritage dramatically increases a character's capacity for implants and opens the door to extremely augmentation-heavy builds.
• The Mechanic is one of Tech Core's standout additions, offering three major playstyles through drones, mines, and turrets.
• Modify gives the Mechanic repeatable, short-duration upgrades without relying on a limited daily resource.
• The Mechanic's custom rig provides portable access to multiple toolkits and reinforces the class's identity as Starfinder's dedicated technology specialist.
• The Augmented archetype is built around getting more mileage out of cybernetic implants and increasing augmentation capacity.
• Grenadier improves thrown explosives and works well with Soldier abilities, but disposable grenades may create an ongoing equipment cost problem.
• Junkomancer turns battlefield trash and scrap into magical resources, equipment, ammunition, and temporary upgrades.
• Nanocyte returns as an archetype rather than a full Starfinder 2e class, using swarms of nanobots for offense, defense, repair, and utility.
• Pharmacologist lets characters create medical consumables and deliver medicine or poison through syringe weapons.
• Shield Ace is mechanically solid for defensive builds, even if nobody on the podcast appeared especially excited about it.
• Vehicle Pilot becomes much more interesting in campaigns where vehicles actually matter, especially once hoverboards start doubling as shields.
• Robot companions use mechanics similar to animal companions, allowing characters to customize robotic allies with different chassis and upgrades.
• Tech Core embraces Starfinder's mixture of serious mechanics and complete nonsense, which is how we ended up discussing murderous holographic mascots, rocket fists, healing land mines, syringe guns, armed starfish, and robot railguns with knives.

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