Paizo Inc. has revealed plans for the launch of the playtest version of Starfinder Second Edition, set to premier at Gen Con 2024.  The Gen Con launch will include the Starfinder Second Edition Playtest Rulebook, the Starfinder Second Edition Playtest Adventure:  A Cosmic Birthday, and the Starfinder Flip-Mat:  Second Edition Playtest Multi-Pack.

Announced last year (see “Paizo Announces ‘Starfinder 2E’”), the Starfinder Second Edition seeks to update the game to be compatible with the second edition of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.  The company seeks to involve feedback from the community through an open playtest version of the game.

The Starfinder Second Edition Playtest Rulebook will offer players six new classes and ten ancestries, as well as new skills, feats, equipment, and upgrades.  The book will be 264 pages and will enable players to take their characters from Level 1 to Level 20.  Participating players can sign up to contribute to the Starfinder Playtest with Paizo to provide feedback on the game.

To help players leap into the playtest, Paizo will also offer A Cosmic Birthday, a complete adventure for 1st Level characters using the new ruleset.  The adventure will feature both new creatures and updated versions of popular Starfinder creatures, and it offers both “dungeon crawl” and “sandbox” style adventures.

For those who like to use maps and miniatures, the Starfinder Flip-Mat:  Second Edition Playtest Multi-Pack comes with four encounter areas for A Cosmic Birthday and a later planned adventure, Empires Devoured.  The first Flip-Mat depicts a space station and a science-fantasy city, the other a fungus jungle and a jungle settlement.