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I'm not 100% sure about these being annual releases--I still haven't finished digesting the second one!
Sounds nice. Good to see more weird and wacky playable races coming with that swarm race. Any chance that living hologram gets a PC option?
If so, how do you get around being tethered to a projector?
Ooh, playable swarm! I wonder how armor works there. I wonder if I can cast polymorph to pretend to be humanoid? Surprise people by letting the spell expire?
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Oh goody! Another Alien Archive! Will be worth every month in wait! Will the Beginner Box and AA3 be the only rulebooks this year, or should we expect something in December?
Sounds nice. Good to see more weird and wacky playable races coming with that swarm race. Any chance that living hologram gets a PC option?If so, how do you get around being tethered to a projector?
I thought it would be kind of cool to play a sentient virus that could bodyhop and take control of individual host constructs, but Starfinder PCs tend to be way too invested in their own personal bodies for that to work. Actually, since this book is introducing creature companions (finally, finally! :D ), it would be the coolest thing have a living hologram as a construct companion that can hitch a ride in a portable computer or comm unit. Oh yeah, we're going straight up Cortana & Chief with this ruleset.
Also, Lying Cat-esque alien and more Preluria lore maaaaybe?
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Sapient swarm race? Does Paizo have a direct link to my subconscious?
I wonder if we'll finally get Sazaron and Dirindi stats this time.
Oh yeah, we're going straight up Cortana & Chief with this ruleset?
To be far exo-mechanics do this already.
Sapient swarm race? Does Paizo have a direct link to my subconscious?
I wonder if we'll finally get Sazaron and Dirindi stats this time.
Oh yeah, we're going straight up Cortana & Chief with this ruleset?To be far exo-mechanics do this already.
Kind of, except Exocortex isn't really something that can act on its own initiative or leave your person, nor is it sentient. Other people can't even interact with it. And we totally need Sazarons and Dirindis. With Sazarons having racial "mount" abilities that they never let anybody use. :P
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Hey, if the living hologram did get a PC option, that would mean being able to play as one of the few excellent parts of Voyager!!
Animal companions! Mounts! A playable swarm! Bioluminescence!
Yup, I'm already hyped.
Nice.
I wasn't expecting a new alien archive announcement, that's cool!
Kind of, except Exocortex isn't really something that can act on its own initiative or leave your person, nor is it sentient. Other people can't even interact with it. And we totally need Sazarons and Dirindis. With Sazarons having racial "mount" abilities that they never let anybody use. :P
Oh yeah, we're going straight up Cortana & Chief with this ruleset?To be far exo-mechanics do this already.
Nothing in the rules says exocortexes can't interact with others. Again, how much independent personality it has is up to the player/GM. Still, I could go for a more explicit Cortana/MC analogue.
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Nothing in the rules says exocortexes can't interact with others. Again, how much independent personality it has is up to the player/GM. Still, I could go for a more explicit Cortana/MC analogue.
You begin play with an exocortex, an artificial processor that interacts with and augments your biological brain’s cognitive functions, which can aid you in a variety of tasks, from combat to digital infiltration. Your exocortex is implanted within your physical body or brain, similar to a piece of cybernetic hardware, allowing your AI to access your mind and feed you information. As you gain levels, your exocortex advances in sophistication and processing power—see Exocortex. Only you can access or interact with your exocortex.
Eh, a little hard to say. It sounds plausible that this might only be referring to interactions that grant mechanical benefits, although the wording of the text doesn’t guarantee a player can do this, especially if the text is strictly interpreted. The previous section in the Mechanic writeup, “Artificial Intelligence,” also explicitly states the Mechanic’s Exocortex/Drone is not self-aware. Regardless, there’s definitely a Cortana/EDI/Handsome Jack/Joi/Voyager’s “The Doctor”-sized niche in Starfinder itching to be realized and this book seems like the perfect opportunity to knock it out of the park.
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Regardless, there’s definitely a Cortana/EDI/Handsome Jack/Joi-sized niche in Starfinder itching to be realized and this book seems like the perfect opportunity to knock it out of the park.
And now I want to run an adventure where the party has to deal with a rampant AI.
Why especially Cortana and not Siri or Alexa?
Regardless, there’s definitely a Cortana/EDI/Handsome Jack/Joi-sized niche in Starfinder itching to be realized and this book seems like the perfect opportunity to knock it out of the park.And now I want to run an adventure where the party has to deal with a rampant AI.
Oh man, a HAL 9000/GLADOS/SHODAN villain would be the best thing. I’m a little surprised Starfinder hasn’t done as much with AI stuff yet - no killer robot horde or malevolent viral computer-based intelligence under galactic threats, or rogue AIs that can hack or infect a party’s tech gear or nearby constructs (nor any sentient construct creature without a robot body, save for the Living Hologram), AI companions, Tron-esque virtual worlds (Triaxus had something similar to this), etc. I’d love to see a secretive, underground kingdom on some planet’s Infosphere dark net inhabited entirely by sentient programs, capable of digitizing organics’ bodies or themselves inhabiting artificial forms to interact with the outside world. Like a sci-fi spin on visitations to the First World. Lots to do with the new technological possibilities now possible in the Golarion campaign setting. Can’t wait to see what Paizo’s got cooking next!
Why especially Cortana and not Siri or Alexa?
Those two are probably covered pretty well under existing rules for artificial personalities, I’d think.
Why especially Cortana and not Siri or Alexa?Those two are probably covered pretty well under existing rules for artificial personalities, I’d think.
Well I wouldn't call any of them an AI, but aren't they mostly the same, only different brands?
Well I wouldn't call any of them an AI, but aren't they mostly the same, only different brands?Why especially Cortana and not Siri or Alexa?Those two are probably covered pretty well under existing rules for artificial personalities, I’d think.
Oh geez. Evidently I’m slow. :p Good one. But yes, to clarify: Cortana the fictional AI character from Halo games, not the Microsoft virtual assistant. I’ve totally wanted something like the former as a party companion in Starfinder since before this game was even released. Like a futuristic familiar.
Oh geez. Evidently I’m slow. :p Good one. But yes, to clarify: Cortana the fictional AI character from Halo games, not the Microsoft virtual assistant. I’ve totally wanted something like the former as a party companion in Starfinder since before this game was even released. Like a futuristic familiar.
Oh, maybe it's me who's slow. I didn't know those games had a character by that name. So it's a case of Microsoft stealing from themselves, interesting. :)
Oh geez. Evidently I’m slow. :p Good one. But yes, to clarify: Cortana the fictional AI character from Halo games, not the Microsoft virtual assistant. I’ve totally wanted something like the former as a party companion in Starfinder since before this game was even released. Like a futuristic familiar.Oh, maybe it's me who's slow. I didn't know those games had a character by that name. So it's a case of Microsoft stealing from themselves, interesting. :)
To the point where the original voice actor is the voice used in the Microsoft product.
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Sounds nice. Good to see more weird and wacky playable races coming with that swarm race. Any chance that living hologram gets a PC option?
There is a player option, but it's not racial traits for playing one...
If you want a sneak preview of living holograms, that creature in particular is an expansion on the entry in Starfinder Adventure Path #4: The Ruined Clouds!
Sounds nice. Good to see more weird and wacky playable races coming with that swarm race. Any chance that living hologram gets a PC option?There is a player option, but it's not racial traits for playing one...
If you want a sneak preview of living holograms, that creature in particular is an expansion on the entry in Starfinder Adventure Path #4: The Ruined Clouds!
Ah man, Joe. EVERY time I think I’ve reached peak excitement for a book, you people give us one blurb and all of a sudden I’m excited all over again. Loved your Starfinder Wednesday appearance, btw. Vanguard is probably my favourite new class so far. Been itching to make a comic book style fist-fighting brawler for a while now, and that class is everything I had hoped for. Will any of the new aliens incorporate grafts from the new classes? I can totally see a Sorazon vanguard wrecking house.
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FINNALLY I CAN PLAY SPIDERS MAN
Sounds nice. Good to see more weird and wacky playable races coming with that swarm race. Any chance that living hologram gets a PC option?There is a player option, but it's not racial traits for playing one...
Hmmm. Hard light projector tech item maybe?
What are Dirindi and Sazaron? I have never heard of them and google is no help.
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What are Dirindi and Sazaron? I have never heard of them and google is no help.
Races living on the biggest Pact Worlds moons.
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What are Dirindi and Sazaron? I have never heard of them and google is no help.
"Three-eyed, electrically attuned humanoids" & centaur-like creatures with "humanoid torsos and four-legged saurian bodies." They jointly run the government for the Pact World Arkanen, and are probably the only major Pact World species that haven't been statted yet. Kind of important, because it's hard to run adventures on Arkanen or Osoro (the former the largest hub of mystical universities in the Pact Worlds, and the latter a sort of overrun Jurassic Park with a poisonous atmosphere) without them. So this book seems pretty indispensable, especially if you've had plans for a while to make a Technomancer Foaly from Artemis Fowl! I notice Irokiroi are also here from Osoro - very fun!
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I wonder if we'll finally get Sazaron and Dirindi stats this time.That would be cool...
So would...
"...bands of cave-dwelling snake-people, jackal-faced arthropods..."
And
"the stone-faced squidfolk of Vesk-2, the antlike beings of Vesk-5"
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What are Dirindi and Sazaron? I have never heard of them and google is no help."Three-eyed, electrically attuned humanoids" & centaur-like creatures with "humanoid torsos and four-legged saurian bodies." They jointly run the government for the Pact World Arkanen, and are probably the only major Pact World species that haven't been statted yet. Kind of important, because it's hard to run adventures on Arkanen or Osoro (the former the largest hub of mystical universities in the Pact Worlds, and the latter a sort of overrun Jurassic Park with a poisonous atmosphere) without them. So this book seems pretty indispensable, especially if you've had plans for a while to make a Technomancer Foaly from Artemis Fowl! I notice Irokiroi are also here from Osoro - very fun!
Yeah, they look really cool. I've been wanting to play a dirindi since first reading about them in Pact Worlds.
Hmm
This looks interesting
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Vanguard is probably my favourite new class so far. Been itching to make a comic book style fist-fighting brawler for a while now, and that class is everything I had hoped for. Will any of the new aliens incorporate grafts from the new classes? I can totally see a Sorazon vanguard wrecking house.
Glad the vanguard is scratching that itch! I'm really looking forward to the characters people come up with...
Alien Archive 3 aliens won't have the new class grafts; we'll still be hard at work on the Character Operations Manual when we send that batch of critters off to the printer. (Which is a bit of a shame, because several of the new playable species pair especially well with the new classes!)
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Hmmm. Hard light projector tech item maybe?Sounds nice. Good to see more weird and wacky playable races coming with that swarm race. Any chance that living hologram gets a PC option?There is a player option, but it's not racial traits for playing one...
M-maybe...
Hmmm. Hard light projector tech item maybe?Sounds nice. Good to see more weird and wacky playable races coming with that swarm race. Any chance that living hologram gets a PC option?There is a player option, but it's not racial traits for playing one...
M-maybe...
Ooo...If Living Holograms end up being combatant companions, this might solve the problem of how they might remain mobile and manifest with a party that’s not carrying around extra expensive tech. In their writeup in Dead Suns AA, hologram entities are bound to their projector, so if this is an item in AA3, you’d literally be carrying around a piece of technology that is often used for storing Living Holograms.
It's more likely that you carry around something like a shield projector or Summon Creature simulator based on living holograms.
Very hyped for this, especially given the possibility of dirindi & sazarons.
The idea of a playable swarm is very interesting, as well.
Hmmm. Hard light projector tech item maybe?Sounds nice. Good to see more weird and wacky playable races coming with that swarm race. Any chance that living hologram gets a PC option?There is a player option, but it's not racial traits for playing one...
M-maybe...
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa...did you just say mounts? Like I get a mount this time around?
*Begins drawing up a Half-Orc Thunderwolf Cavalry rider*
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"..plus rules for gaining a creature companion that can accompany you as a pet, a mount, or even a fearsome combatant! And over a dozen species have rules for making your own playable alien character.."
The back rules portions are easily becoming my favorite parts of the Archives. Building NPCs, Summoning, Polymorph, and now building PC races and companions? Fingers crossed that Armory 2 follows suit with gear or vehicle creation systems!
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"..plus rules for gaining a creature companion that can accompany you as a pet, a mount, or even a fearsome combatant! And over a dozen species have rules for making your own playable alien character.."The back rules portions are easily becoming my favorite parts of the Archives. Building NPCs, Summoning, Polymorph, and now building PC races and companions? Fingers crossed that Armory 2 follows suit with gear or vehicle creation systems!
I don't think the intention is that they have an Advanced Races Guide style race builder (but it would be cool if they did). Rather, they're including rules for animal companions/familiars as backmatter and there are over a dozen playable races in the book itself.
Ooh, playable swarm! I wonder how armor works there. I wonder if I can cast polymorph to pretend to be humanoid? Surprise people by letting the spell expire?
Watch Red Dwarf
Just what Starfinder needs: Arnold Rimmer.Sounds nice. Good to see more weird and wacky playable races coming with that swarm race. Any chance that living hologram gets a PC option?If so, how do you get around being tethered to a projector?
Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast!