• Added goblin, halfling, leshy and orc ancestries from PF Player Core.
• Added human Ancestry Feats from PF Player Core.
• Added changeling, nephilim, aiuvarin and dromaar heritages from PF Player Core.
• Added missing cantrip Telekinetic Projectile.
• Fixed incorrect level for Pahtra ancestry feats.

Creature Builder: If you're familiar with the Starfinder 1E version of Hephaistos then you know that its is more than just a Character builder, with the ability to create and manage Starships, Mechs, NPCs, Tactical & Starship Encounters and so on. That is also my vision for Hephaistos 2E, and so I've started working on adding a Creature/NPC builder to the website. There's nothing to show just yet, but I'm aiming for the Creature builder to be released early-to-mid December.

• Added equipment, spells, ancestry and heritage from Guilt of the Grave World.
• Added dwarf, elf and gnome ancestries from Pathfinder Player Core.
• Added backgrounds from Pathfinder Player Core.
• Technomancer feat Cantrip Expansion now actually grants additional prepared cantrips.
• The remaining charges on Battery ammo can now be edited (e.g. to recharge it to full).
• Fixed the Sheet > Feats section showing feats retrained or otherwise unselected.
• Fixed the description for the Heal spell.
• Fixed incorrect range for spell Injury Echo.

Note on Pathfinder content: This update starts the proces of adding (remastered) Pathfinder content to Hephaistos 2E. Since the website's focus remains on Starfinder 2E I thought I'd clarify my own internal guidelines for adding Pathfinder content, to provide both transparency and an opportunity for feedback.

Generally, Pathfinder content will be added as it appears in the source rules (with offical errata applied as applicable). The main exception to this is when there is a conflict (e.g. a feat or background that exists in both systems). In such cases, the Starfinder version will be preferred, unless the Pathfinder version is mechanically different, in which case both versions will co-exist in Hephaistos.

In more complex cases of conflict, such as the Human ancestry, the content will be merged as best as possible. In the case of the Human ancestry, this would mean that you still only have one entry for "Human" on Hephaistos, with the description, heritages and feats from the Starfinder Player Core, but you'll have access to heritages and ancestry feats from Pathfinder that don't already exist for Starfinder's Humans (if any).

Pathfinder equipment, when it eventually gets added, will come with the Archaic trait as described in the Starfinder GM Core, though I also plan on adding support for weapon and armor runes, which are needed for some Starfinder ancestry feats anyway.

Finally, Pathfinder content will be added over time in publication order, starting with Player Core. That said, if you have a specific ancestry, background, spell etc. from Pathfinder you'd like to have in Hephaistos sooner rather than later, feel free to let me know and I'll do my best to accomodate.

• Added precious materials from SF Player Core.
• Khizar heritage Wildseed now grants an additional Ancestry feat selection, as described.
• Armor with the Noisy trait now applies its Check Penalty to Stealth even if the Strength requirement is met.
• Fixed not being able to mark usage for innate spells in the Sheet > Spells section.
• Fixed Tactical Advance feat being two actions instead of one.
• Fixed incorrect trait and level for Shobhad Spirit-Blessed ancestry feat.

• Added Deities, Archetypes and Rituals from SF Player Core. Note: Rituals are represented as inventory items in Hephaistos and can be viewed and added from the Browse Equipment dialog.
• Added ancestries & backgrounds from the Invasion's Edge Player Guide.
• Stellar Build PDF exports now contain spells.
• Skills and Attributes can now have custom bonuses and penalties added to them from their sidebar.
• Equipment in the Browse Equipment dialog can now be filtered by price.
• The Aim action for Operatives now updates its description based on character level.
• Fixed weapon upgrades that adding bonus damage twice.
• Armor with the Flexible trait no longer adds penalties to Acrobatics or Athletics.
• Updated the inventory so only one armor can be equipped at a time.
• Fixed incorrect bulk for weapon upgrade Undermounted Grenade Launcher.
• Fixed Operator Specialization Infiltrator's Sabotage action being listed as two actions instead of one.

Armor and weapon upgrades, magic items, augmentations, spells and conditions have all been updated to SF Player Core. Dieties/religion are the the only things remaining from the Playtest Rulebook now that needs to be updated. The SF Player Core also added Archetypes and Rituals, which weren't present in the playtest, so I will be adding them soon as well. For a full breakdown of the current state, as well as future plans, see the Hephaistos 2E roadmap.

Other updates in this release include:

• Added the Khizar ancestry from Murder in Metal City.
• Solarian's Solar Weapon and Solar Flare can now have upgrade Crystals installed in them.
• Fixed Operative Specialization Skirmisher automatically adding the Hair Trigger feat.

Versatile Heritages, Languages, Backgrounds, Classes, Skill & Basic Actions, Feats, Tech Gear, Armor, Shields, Weapons, and Ammunition have all been updated to SF Player Core. The remaining equipment, Spells, and Conditions will be updated in subsequent releases.

• Updated the roadmap page has been updated to better reflect the current state of content and planned additions.
• Fixed selecting Signature Spells not working correctly in the Creator > Class > Spells section.
• Fixed the Creator > Class section reverting to the Overview tab after every change.

• Updated playtest Ancestries to match Starfinder Player Core (see note below).
• Implemented Free Archetype, Ancestry Paragon and Stamina variant rules.
• Inventory section in the Creator and Sheet now shows the base proficiency for each armor and weapon category.
• Stellar Build PDF export now pre-fills abilities, feats and class features.
• Fixed incorrect level and descriptions for Contemplative feats Mindrender and Encyclopedic Recall, respectively.
• Fixed Mystic feat Child of the Twilight Eclipse not granting spells correctly.
• Fixed issue with skill increases being applied incorrectly on the Creator > Skills page.
• Fixed inability to increase proficiency or override lore skills provided by Backgrounds and Feats.

Note on Playtest Content: With the official release of Starfinder Player Core, I will be going through and updating everything from the Starfinder Playtest Rulebook. Ancestries are already done, and the rest will come in subsequent Hephaistos updates. Characters made with playtest content will automatically be updated to the official version; Feats, Heritages, Spells and so on that existed in the playtest and no longer exist in official content will need to be reselected. To help disambiguate what is from a playtest and what isn't, I've added a "Playtest" trait which will show on all content that is yet to be updated.

• Robot companions can now be created from the Creator section. Selecting the Drone Exocortex for Mechanics now provides a "Mechanic Drone" tag, which can be added to a robot companion to provide the additional benefits described in the class feature.
• Added filters in the Browse Equipment dialog for weapon range and upgrade usage.
• Started adding support for the Stellar Build Character Sheet PDF. Currently, only the first two pages are filled out (except for fields related to spellcasting & companion), though that will be expanded in future releases.
• Reorganized actions in the Sheet > Actions section.
• Added Telekinetic Sprint action to the Contemplative feat Speed of Thought.
• Fixed issue with skill increases not being reassignable on the Creator > Skills page after changing Class.
• Fixed Envoy action Get Your Head In The Game to remove trigger.

As we approach GenCon and the Starfinder 2E launch, I thought I'd share some stats from all the characters that have been created in Hephaistos 2E. You can view the graphs for Ancestries, Backgrounds, Classes and the most popular combinations of the three here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/134605751

• Updated french translations, including for content from the Galaxy Guide.
• Search boxes for equipment, feats, spells and so on now search the description as well as the name.
• Adding a filter for equipment, feats and spells when there was no existing filter will now create an And block by default.
• Added missing spell Flashfire.
• Escaped Experiment background now actually gives the Canny Acumen feat.
• Fixed description of cantrip Detect Thoughts listing the incorrect number of actions.

• Added a Notes section to the Character sheet.
• Feat Intimidating Prowess now adds a situational bonus to Intimidation.
• Fixed issue loading characters with Ancestry feats from Ancestries other than their chosen one.
• Fixed Human feat Natural Skill only providing one skill option instead of two.
• Fixed Mystic feat Network Shield to be a reaction. Fixed not being able to remove counters.
• Fixed skill increases being changable in read-only mode.
• Fixed issue where the Creator > Spells section for some spellcasting characters would be empty.

I have started work on adding support for companions to Hephaistos. While my current focus is on robot companions, as described in the Tech Class Playtest, I am approaching the feature in a more general way, so adding other types of companion (animal companions, pets, familiars, eidolons etc.) in the future should be relatively easy. I don't have a strict timeline, but I'm aiming to have robot companions available on the website before GenCon.

Fifth Anniversary​

It's been five years is I first released Hephaistos, back at the end of June 2020. Between the Community Use Policy, and thus Hephaistos itself, almost getting canned, and the release of multiple Starfinder 2E playtests, the last twelve months have been quite the rollercoaster. And now, with the SF2E release within reach, development on Hephaistos websites for both editions is in full swing.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Hephaistos is what it is because of the Starfinder community. Each bug reported, each suggestion submitted and each dollar donated ensures that the next release will be better than the last. So, thank you all, for helping make Hephaistos better.