Strange aliens both friendly and fearsome fill this tome of creatures designed for use with the Starfinder Roleplaying Game! From the gravity-manipulating frujais and planet-killing novaspawn to space goblins and security robots, the creatures in this codex will challenge adventurers no matter what strange worlds they're exploring. What's more, player rules for a host of creatures let players not just fight aliens, but be them!
Inside Starfinder Alien Archive, you'll find the following:
Over 80 bizarre life-forms both classic and new, from the reptilian ikeshtis and energy-bodied hallajins to robotic anacites and supernatural entities from beyond the realms of mortals.
Over 20 species with full player rules, letting you play everything from a winged dragonkin to a hyperevolved floating brain.
New alien technology to help give your character an edge, including weapons, armor, magic items, and more.
A robust NPC-creation system to let Game Masters build any aliens or creatures they can imagine.
New rules for magical monster summoning, quick templates to modify creatures on the fly, and more!
ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-975-2
Other Resources: This product is also available on the following platforms:
Beautifully illustrated, rich with monsters and playable races options. The part about how to create monsters is fantastic and absolutely needed. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that I found a few errors (mostly missing stats) which bring down the polish of this product quite a bit. Furthermore, due to the complexity of the equipment side of this game it makes for a decent amount of cross-referencing the core rule book in order to find what you need, and that sucks.
An F.A.Q./errata is needed, please!
The Alien Archive is the first Starfinder "monster book." It includes sixty different creatures. Although GMs would be the natural audience for a book like this, players can get a lot out of it as well because no less than 21 of the creature entries have rules for running them as PCs. In addition, several of the entries introduce new weapons, armor, or other magical items. The book is structured pretty much like you would expect, with a short introduction, a whole bunch of creatures in alphabetical order, and then some (very useful and important) appendices. I'm going to go through each of these sections, but first I want to highlight the overall design and look of the book: it's absolutely gorgeous. The full-colour artwork is uniformly excellent and fits the "feel" of the Starfinder universe perfectly, the intelligently-designed footers and page borders make it very easy to tell where you are in the book at any moment, and the layout of the creature stat blocks and description makes the text very readable. Paizo is one of the best in the business at this part of RPG publishing, and their attention and expertise to detail (not to mention investment in quality artwork) shows here to full effect.
The book starts with a two-page introduction that has a couple of different topics. First, there's an explanation that the aliens given special rules to allow them to be played as PCs have often been scaled back in power from the same aliens when played as NPCs by the GM. This makes sense from a game-design perspective (because otherwise many of the playable alien races would be overpowered), but it can be somewhat disappointing as a reader to stumble on an alien that seems awesome only to realize that, if you want to play one, it's abilities will be significantly nerfed. Second, there's a "How to Read a Stat Block" section that explains each line in a creature stat block. Most of this will be pretty familiar to readers of Pathfinder Bestiaries, with some minor distinctions, like only showing ability score modifiers (not the scores themselves), only showing usable feats (not ones that are "built in" to the statistics), and the disappointing omission of the little one-line description in italics that I used to read out to players when they encountered a new monster. Another minor difference is that instead of having little symbols that define monsters by environment, the Alien Archive has little symbols that identify them as "Combatants", "Experts" (skillwise), or "Spellcasters".
The core of the book (120 pages), of course, is the creature entries. Each entry gets a full two-page spread. The advantage of this is that many entries include multiple stat blocks (such as Space Goblins getting a CR 1/3 "Space Goblin Zaperator" and a CR 2 "Space Goblin Honchohead"), there's room for the aforementioned new items or PC racial traits, and there's a *lot* of description. This last thing is probably one of my favourite things about the book, as the writers could go into much more depth on each creature than if they just had one-page entries. The background/description sections are full of flavour and setting lore, and I saw some great adventure hooks buried within some of them. The obvious drawback of two-page spreads for each entry is that it does limit the overall number of creatures in the book, which is already slim (a topic I'll talk more about below).
As for the creatures themselves, I guess it's not really practical for me to go through all sixty of them. Some general observations: 1) They struck a reasonable balance between (re)introducing some Pathfinder creatures into the new setting (like Dragons, Drow, Elementals, and Goblins) without turning the book into just an updated Bestiary. The vast majority of creatures in the book are new. 2) Despite being an "alien" book, most of the creatures are roughly two arm/two leg/one head humanoids. There are definitely some exceptions, such as my beloved barathu (floating jellyfish-like creatures, one of which I'm running through Dead Suns), skittermanders (six-armed over-helpful little creatures that have become Starfinder's break-out hit), and exotic threats like the tech-devouring "assembly ooze" (cooler in theory than in practice). 3) Even with a relatively small spread of creatures, some entries are pretty unimaginative and fall flat: I'm looking at you Formians (generic ant creatures), Grays (generic mysterious aliens), Mountain eels (eels . . . on mountains!), surnoch (forgettable giant worms), and the Swarm (generic bug monsters). 4) The book somehow manages to handle, incredibly concisely, some entries for creature types that should take up several pages: all of the chromatic dragons, for example, are included into a single two-page spread (through the use of templates), and all four of the basic elemental types and sizes are summarised through similar means in just two pages. I admire the economy of space, though I worry the templates don't include enough special features to make a white dragon play significantly differently than a blue dragon (for example) or for a water elemental to really seem different than an air elemental. 5) A few of the creatures are large enough to post a threat to entire starships, and have been given additional stat blocks for starship combat. 6) The creatures are heavily skewed to the low to middle levels of gameplay. There's only one or two creatures each for CRs of 13 or above.
Appendix 1 weighs in at a hefty 17 pages and provides a GM with instructions for creating custom monsters and NPCs. There's a nine-step process which includes selecting an ability score array, creature type, special abilities, etc. The process is designed to be quick and painless, and operates on the premise that what's important from a player-facing perspective is what cool things a creature can do during an encounter rather than whether it has precisely the right amount of skill points or one too many feats. This was a conscious decision by the Starfinder designers, and is a big break with the D&D 3.5/Pathfinder model which operated under the premise that monsters/NPCs couldn't "cheat" (so a Level 5 Wizard NPC couldn't have more spells than a Level 5 Wizard PC "just because"). The choice has led to criticism from a lot of GMs who prefer the Pathfinder way. I almost exclusively run pre-made adventures these days so I haven't used the monster/NPC creation rules in the Alien Archive myself. Perhaps the only problem I've noticed is that monsters and NPCs can seem very "samey" because they're not built organically with real strengths and weaknesses (there's never a Level 6 creature running around with a 10 KAC because it's slow and doesn't wear armor, for example--it'll have a fixed KAC of 18, 19, or 20 depending on which array is chosen).
Appendix 2 (five pages) provides the rules for summoning creatures in Starfinder. It introduces the Summon Creature spell and the associated tables for what exactly can be summoned for each level of the spell. One of the differences from Pathfinder is that a spellcaster must decide, ahead of time, which four creatures they're familiar enough with to summon (instead of being able to summon anything on the table). In addition, there are some alignment and class restrictions on what can be summoned, which is an intelligent limitation. I personally hate summoned creatures, animal companions, and familiars, so anything that can be done to curb the abuse we see in Pathfinder is welcome as far as I'm concerned.
Appendix 3 (two pages) provides 16 new templates (called "Grafts" here) that can be applied to creatures to change them up a little. A couple of these are familiar from Pathfinder (like Celestial, fiendish, and Giant), but most of the others are new for Starfinder (like Cybernetic, Synthetic, Miniature, and Two-Headed).
Appendix 4 (7 pages) is the most important of the appendices, as it contains what every GM will need to reference frequently: universe creature rules. When a stat block says a monster has Blindsense, Grab, or Undead Immunities, they'll need to turn here to figure out exactly what that means in mechanical terms. Some of these rules will be very familiar to Pathfinder GMs, but there are enough little differences that it's worth reading the entries carefully.
The most commonly heard complaint about the Alien Archive is that it's just too short for its price. It's $ 39.99 for just 159 pages, while a hardcover Pathfinder Bestiary is 328 pages and a $ 44.99 retail price. I think the criticism is fair, and I wouldn't blame people for choosing to instead get the $ 9.99 PDF. Apart from its length/price, however, this is a really strong book full of gorgeous artwork, strong writing, and a good array of various creatures. It's definitely worth picking up in one format or another.
The first "Bestiary" is just amazing, plenty of alien creatures, new races that players can choose for their characters (this is one of the most amazing features of Starfinder), simple and easy rules to create your own alien species. An amazing book, people complain that is not as big as the Pathfinder Bestiaries, but hey, they are giving us Alien Archives every couple of mothns (third is on the way). In that sense, I prefer "smaller" books, that arrive more often. Very happy with this!
Pathfinder Lost Omens, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
A few questions on the Drow Section...
Spoiler:
1.the Drow Noble has the ability to use flight at 2nd level at will and constant detect magic, how do those show up on player character's?
2.Will Drow Noble player states show up in a later volume?
A few questions on the Drow Section...** spoiler omitted **
I think it's doubtful that Drow Nobles will ever be allowed to be a race you can play from level one, but perhaps the added abilities might come through unlocking feats or enhancements.
But when all is said and done it might not be worth the effort considering the fact that the same might be done with the right kind of gear.
That's just my opinion, you will need to do what is right for your game.
Begins pumping air into Vexies' subscription's tires.
I take it you got yours last night. congrats if so! It's all good I know I will get mine eventually. I suspect it is due to a replacement copy of the core book being included in my shipment. I think I read somewhere that they were giving them a once over before shipping out replacement copies so im sure that slows things down a bit.
Woot! going to have to have you air up those tires more often. I just got my confirmation. Odd time for it though. I thought they were not even in the building until much later in the day. (only 11am EST here)
A much appreciated shout out to all the hardworking folks at Paizo.
Woot! going to have to have you air up those tires more often. I just got my confirmation. Odd time for it though. I thought they were not even in the building until must later in the day. (only 11am EST here)
A much appreciated shout out to all the hardworking folks at Paizo.
Hope you get yours today as well.
Well it's 8AM over there so they probably just "opened".
Paizo officially opens at 10 a.m. Pacific time, so don't expect to get a shipping notice before then. However, I have gotten shipping notices relatively late at night, so you shouldn't give up hope for the day even if it is after 5 p.m. Pacific time.
According to my redtext above this item, I purchased this product on September 28th, so as long as I can get it before it hits the stores as a subscriber I'd be happy, but I also understand if situations transpire like Paizo trying to make good for a manufacturing defect in another product, or me adding another item to my Sidecart while it is still 'Pending'.
The Customer Service team has been dealing with a crudtonne of stuff if the microcosm that is the Forums is any indication and mad props that we haven't gotten a half-dozen CS table-flipping avatars or more.
Can't wait for the .pdf to post question, brought up by forum discussion:
Does it look like the 'baseline' Drow are playable and have stepped away from their insanely matriarchal stance in Pathfinder?
Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
Wei Ji the Learner wrote:
According to my redtext above this item, I purchased this product on September 28th, so as long as I can get it before it hits the stores as a subscriber I'd be happy, but I also understand if situations transpire like Paizo trying to make good for a manufacturing defect in another product, or me adding another item to my Sidecart while it is still 'Pending'.
The Customer Service team has been dealing with a crudtonne of stuff if the microcosm that is the Forums is any indication and mad props that we haven't gotten a half-dozen CS table-flipping avatars or more.
** spoiler omitted **
Spoiler:
You can actually read the full entries for the Drow (and Contemplatives) in Game Trade Magazine's Alien Archive preview.
There aren't many repeat monsters in this book and of those that are repeat they're almost all creatures that are from space in Pathfinder. Creatures like Aboleths are unlikely to get stats in favor of new creatures and the general assumption seems to be that you either convert from PF or build using monster creation rules. It's also unlikely Starfinder will see much of Aboleths because they're civilization was based on Golarion which is now gone. The odd one might show up that escaped Golarion or as part of the Azlanti Star Empire but I don't see it as too likely since I think Paizo are trying to tell new stories more than they reuse older ones. (Do bear in mind that this is all speculation on my part so don't take my word as gospel)
There aren't many repeat monsters in this book and of those that are repeat they're almost all creatures that are from space in Pathfinder. Creatures like Aboleths are unlikely to get stats in favor of new creatures and the general assumption seems to be that you either convert from PF or build using monster creation rules. It's also unlikely Starfinder will see much of Aboleths because they're civilization was based on Golarion which is now gone. The odd one might show up that escaped Golarion or as part of the Azlanti Star Empire but I don't see it as too likely since I think Paizo are trying to tell new stories more than they reuse older ones. (Do bear in mind that this is all speculation on my part so don't take my word as gospel)
Thanks for answering.
A question I previously asked: How is the Energy Armor Class of creatures that rely on natural armor determined?
There aren't many repeat monsters in this book and of those that are repeat they're almost all creatures that are from space in Pathfinder. Creatures like Aboleths are unlikely to get stats in favor of new creatures and the general assumption seems to be that you either convert from PF or build using monster creation rules. It's also unlikely Starfinder will see much of Aboleths because they're civilization was based on Golarion which is now gone. The odd one might show up that escaped Golarion or as part of the Azlanti Star Empire but I don't see it as too likely since I think Paizo are trying to tell new stories more than they reuse older ones. (Do bear in mind that this is all speculation on my part so don't take my word as gospel)
Thanks for answering.
A question I previously asked: How is the Energy Armor Class of creatures that rely on natural armor determined?
New Question: How do natuaral weapons scale?
As far as I can tell, both KAC and EAC are determined by the CR and array, if your creature doesn't have a class graft then it doesn't get gear so just has the standard defenses given on the table (EAC is usually 1 or 2 points lower than KAC). As for natural weapons, it's hard to explain how they scale but they go from 1d6+Str at CR 1/3 to 18d10+25+Str at CR25, the dice remain pretty constant up to CR 6 with 1d6+a mod, but after that they change almost every level (at least for melee)
I'm very conflicted, I love the monsters and the art... but I hate the rules.
What makes you use such a strong word for your feelings?
Because that's how I'm feeling? Perhaps it's too strong a word but I really, really, really, really, really, really dislike the monster creation rules. Despise? Detest?
If you just want to take one straight out of the book and use as is they're fine, but if you want to tweak or make your own or just look at the stats to see how it all works it gets a bit messy.
It feels like stats were summed up and then a monster was slapped on as an afterthought, rather than a statblock built for that particular monster. And then there's the class grafts...
I personally really like the monster creation rules, in PF I felt overwhelmed trying to create monsters because I felt like there were so many moving parts involved. Now with SF rules I can follow a step by step process and have the monster I imagined without having to worry whether or not it's balanced. Whilst I do agree that streamlining the classes for npcs can be a bit confusing and sometimes irritating, I don't mind too much because it does make creating encounters faster (once you're familiar with the mechanisms that is) since you don't have to build full PC statblocks. This is all my personal opinion though and I do see why people might not like it.
I'm very conflicted, I love the monsters and the art... but I hate the rules.
What makes you use such a strong word for your feelings?
Because that's how I'm feeling? Perhaps it's too strong a word but I really, really, really, really, really, really dislike the monster creation rules. Despise? Detest?
If you just want to take one straight out of the book and use as is they're fine, but if you want to tweak or make your own or just look at the stats to see how it all works it gets a bit messy.
It feels like stats were summed up and then a monster was slapped on as an afterthought, rather than a statblock built for that particular monster. And then there's the class grafts...
It is more generic for sure. As a fan of tinkering with the mechanics on the back end I feel what your saying. They are more streamlined and its harder to get that exact tweaked feel you could with the old more complex rules. It is annoying that its harder to deconstruct existing NPCs and see why they do what they do but ive just accepted throwing that out and embracing the new rules for what they are.
That said most of the time my favorite thing I do in Pathfinder is applying class levels to existing intelligent creatures. Ive always taken the stance that the "stock" creature is average joe citizen but that there are trained fighters or rogues or whatever versions guarding the village or whatever.
The class grafts seem to facilitate that easily enough so im good.
I do appreciate that they do look someone easier to use and less time consuming.
I'm very conflicted, I love the monsters and the art... but I hate the rules.
What makes you use such a strong word for your feelings?
Because that's how I'm feeling? Perhaps it's too strong a word but I really, really, really, really, really, really dislike the monster creation rules. Despise? Detest?
If you just want to take one straight out of the book and use as is they're fine, but if you want to tweak or make your own or just look at the stats to see how it all works it gets a bit messy.
It feels like stats were summed up and then a monster was slapped on as an afterthought, rather than a statblock built for that particular monster. And then there's the class grafts...
It is more generic for sure. As a fan of tinkering with the mechanics on the back end I feel what your saying. They are more streamlined and its harder to get that exact tweaked feel you could with the old more complex rules. It is annoying that its harder to deconstruct existing NPCs and see why they do what they do but ive just accepted throwing that out and embracing the new rules for what they are.
That said most of the time my favorite thing I do in Pathfinder is applying class levels to existing intelligent creatures. Ive always taken the stance that the "stock" creature is average joe citizen but that there are trained fighters or rogues or whatever versions guarding the village or whatever.
The class grafts seem to facilitate that easily enough so im good.
I do appreciate that they do look someone easier to use and less time consuming.
*nods*
And I'm still reading through them so who knows, maybe there'll be something in there that catches my attention. Wondering if there's any more NPC only Class abilities like what Clara had...
It also has unique summons for each class and probably the second interaction with alignment in-game in that your alignment determines what all you can summon as well.
yeah its a interesting take on summoning. Over all I like it but I dislike having to generate custom summoned creatures for any PC or NPC that uses them but I suppose its just a bit of added work. Would of been nice to just of had a summoned creature section of per-genreated stat blocks
yeah its a interesting take on summoning. Over all I like it but I dislike having to generate custom summoned creatures for any PC or NPC that uses them but I suppose its just a bit of added work. Would of been nice to just of had a summoned creature section of per-genreated stat blocks
For a PC summoning that's on them. They want to summon something they better have the statblock, just like in Pathfinder and 3rd.
If not then they no summon. But that just might be me.
It feels like stats were summed up and then a monster was slapped on as an afterthought, rather than a statblock built for that particular monster. And then there's the class grafts...
Have you listened to the monster creation panel from GenCon? That might give you a better idea for how the process works in practice.
It feels like stats were summed up and then a monster was slapped on as an afterthought, rather than a statblock built for that particular monster. And then there's the class grafts...
Have you listened to the monster creation panel from GenCon? That might give you a better idea for how the process works in practice.
The room made a pretty weird monster together.
Heh, I'll have to check that out (I think Bulmahn talked a bit out it at Dragoncon), but looking at the rules now that they're in front of me that's what I'm seeing.