Starfinder Interstellar Species

3.90/5 (based on 11 ratings)
Starfinder Interstellar Species
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Bring an array of aliens—both weird and familiar—to your science fantasy adventures with Interstellar Species, the newest rulebook for the Starfinder Roleplaying Game!

This gorgeously illustrated reference provides deep dives on 25 playable Starfinder species, each with thematic player options usable by any character, plus new options for 7 Starfinder character classes. There's also a system for easily creating your own playable species, and a catalog of around 100 thematic nonplayer characters ready to slot into any adventure! A new class, the evolutionist, allows you to transform yourself over time into an eldritch being, mechanized construct, sepulchral undead, or riot of biological potential, each with unique abilities—and drawbacks, should you allow your transformation to grow out of control.

Written by: Rigby Bendele, Jessica Catalan, John Compton, John Curtin, Dana Ebert, Eleanor Ferron, Ivis K. Flanagan, Nicole Heits, Joan Hong, Mikko Kallio, Jason Keeley, Aaron Lascano, Hilary Moon Murphy, Emily Parks, Joe Pasini, Erin Roberts, Chris S. Sims, Kendra Leigh Speedling, Owen K.C. Stephens, Jason Tondro, Isis Wozniakowska, Linda Zayas-Palmer

ISBN-13: 978-1-64078-473-4

Other Resources: This product is also available on the following platforms:

Fantasy Grounds Virtual Tabletop
Archives of Nethys

Note: This product is part of the Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscription.

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Average product rating:

3.90/5 (based on 11 ratings)

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A Must have!

5/5

I personally liked it, the evolutionist is weird with plenty of space to grow in future supplements and I loved the deep dive into species creation as well as the deep dives into the individual species themselves. I personally would have preferred more of these and less of the npc stat blocks but that's a personal preference. I also feel like they missed out by not including a deep dive into the Dromada species from Alien Archive 3, but again, that's a personal preference thing. 10 out 10! Great job!!


I need more of these books for other species too

4/5

Its great to get lore expansion on the non core species and it was also great to get "NPC Codex" sort of bestiary for starfinder as well and new species creation guidance. New art in book is mostly good, but while officially starfinder has stance of "sometimes art will have wildly different designs to show case how different members of species can be", I kinda feel like that's mostly just excuse that artists are never going to be super consistent. I didn't realize it previously before reading Drift Hackers, but Shimreen since the first picture from AP (and one of pictures here based on that picture) have ever since Alien Archive had human like noses making them look like oreads with even heavier crystal focus. Basically I do think its important to have basic traits of species consistent in art or else their portrayal will over time shift elsewhere from where they started.

Well that nitpick aside, as said having lore articles are great(though they are wildly different since they are from different writers and they don't cover all same topics), like without these articles I wouldn't know how wild some of the species naming schemes are.

I think I had more specific things to comment on the articles as well, but I don't want to make review too long when my main point is "please do more interstellar species books"


Great resource for GMs

5/5


Great book for players looking for more playable species

5/5

1oo pages covering 25 species in depth. I like the sample name section, along with a paragraph or two on naming practices for each species.

Even the custom species-building section is intended for both players and GMs

I love the 5-page thumbnail index of all the playable species. Besides being a great quick way to look up the source of each species, it's great for quickly finding an NPC that fits the situation by being able to see what looks like vs just reading an index of names on the Archive of Nethys. Other than the core rule book this is the book I reach for the most.

18 pages with 72 NPCs for GMs

Took me a while to appreciate the Evolutionist class. My original concept for an Evolutionist just didn't seem to work, but then I worked it through all the way up to the 20th level and it worked great with exactly the flavor I was looking for.

Playable species are one of the big attractions in Starfinder for me. I hope to see more books like this one.


This is a GM book, not a Player book

3/5

Hoo boy, working through this book has been a real exercise in trying to understand what the product is vs. what it is not.

What it is is a book fleshing out several mostly previously unfleshed out species from across several pathfinder products with pages of lore, and an alien NPC stat block collection. If you understand that is what it is and want those, this is a good product. In short: This is mainly a GM-oriented product

What this isn't is a Player-oriented product. The evolutionist is a great concept that mechanically just doesn't feel like what its described as. The options for players of other classes are sparse, with 2 pages a piece for 7 classes in the character option section. limited The custom species rules are for the GM to build races, and less so for players to make custom races. The player options for the species highlighted are definitely the biggest let down. It's most often 1-3 spells and a couple feats, and thats it. None of the alternate racial adjustments and feats we've seen in other products, and only a couple of class options.

TL;DR: This is a book you get because you want the lore on some of the races deep-dived, or want a collection of useful NPC stat blocks to cut down on game prep. It is a book you should avoid if all you want is player options.


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Paizo Employee Sales & eCommerce Assistant

2 people marked this as a favorite.

Announced for November! Product image and description are not final and may be subject to change.


6 people marked this as a favorite.

*gasp IN SPACE*


3 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

This is cool! I hope the seven core ancestries are among the 25 (and the three others that seem to represent core Veskarium ancestries: Pahtras, Ijtikris, and Skittermanders). Other than them, excited to see who else made it. NPC codex portion of this book is going to be amazing, as will Evolutionist. Can't wait!


Looking forward to it.


2 people marked this as a favorite.

Between this and the Impossible Lands I'm gonna be eating good October/November.

Contributor

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Cool!


I know closer looks at the culture of various species has been something Starfinder fans have been desperate for; I'm glad y'all are getting it. Eager to see what we get for Lashunta, Androids, Nuar, and any of the Golarion classics here.

Wayfinders

2 people marked this as a favorite.

I KNEW A BOOK LIKE THIS WOULD COME ONE DAY!

Last year (or was it 2020?) there was a poll about which species folks would want to see more info on - I assume the results of that heavily influenced what species we're getting coverage on here. With 25 species (roughly a quarter of what's available in the game), I expect between 2 and 4 pages per, which is still way more than some currently have.
(Please tell me there's naming conventions in this, I've been dying for those.)

Custom species rules are totally unexpected, but potentially welcome, especially depending on the implementation (I don't know how well the PF1 Advanced Race Guide rules were received).

New options for only a limited selection of the classes is disappointing but understandable if it's for page count reasons - do we think it's the Core Rulebook classes, or a more mixed selection?

Can't say no to a codex of NPCs (of a variety of species) either.

And finally...Evolutionist!
Very excited for this, though November feels like an eternity away.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Yay species time!

And out-of-control tf time? :=D

Wayfinders

11 people marked this as a favorite.

Also: curious about the total absence of the term race here - a sign of it being the official terminology moving forward? (Way overdue but much appreciated if so.)


10 people marked this as a favorite.

Race never made sense for a sci-fi setting anyway.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Guess this is what the survey was for :O Hope we see some ap article only species getting hardcover coverage

Wayfinders

6 people marked this as a favorite.

The odds are so low, but I'd love if the 5 species from the Alien Character Deck - grippli, gnolls, kitsune, samsarans and kobolds - received writeups here as well.
I know a lot of species in the game have very little to work with, but those in particular operate pretty much exclusively on pre-existing Pathfinder assumptions.

Alright folks, let's get speculating, who did you vote for in that survey?

So in Starfinder Society, if you include all the legacy and additional species (as of the next season), but leave out the core ones (some of whom, especially vesk, already have a lot of options and lore), you get up to 25 - and it would conveniently line up with what you can easily play in organized play, which probably constitutes a lot of what people like info on.

- Legacy: dwarf, elf, half-elf, half-orc, gnome, halfling
- Extras: draelik, formian, ikeshti, kalo, maraquoi, nuar, ryphorian, skittermander, verthani, witchwyrd, ijtikri, izalguun, copaxi, dragonkin, pahtra, sarcesian, shobhad, and vlaka

This would however leave out some prominent non-Society options like orcs, drow, barathu, contemplatives, spathinae, bantrids, raxilites, hanakans, tieflings and space goblins, though.

I could see the argument that legacy species aren't included in that and we might get some other ones slotted in their place instead.
Or I'm entirely wrong on all of this and we'll all be surprised by what we find in this!


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

Yes please, with sugar on top. Deeper dives into the species we already have is exactly what I want right now!

Dataphiles

Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

WOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Pathfinder Rulebook, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

So excited for this book! Evolutionist best class. Deep dives on races, bunch of player options, and a new class sounds like a perfect rulebook to me. I understand if it happens but... Please no delays, I pray to all the starfinder gods


7 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Thank you for embracing species instead of race for Starfinder. It just makes so much more sense.


6 people marked this as a favorite.
Starfinder Superscriber

>There's also a system for easily creating your own playable species

Finally, I can make SF-legal centaurs. <3

Dark Archive

3 people marked this as a favorite.

A build your own species system makes way more sense for Starfinder than prior fantasy focused efforts in other systems like the Advanced Race guide or Savage Species. I'm not sure on the value though of the generic NPCs. More lore is always appreciated though.


Starfinder Superscriber
Davor Firetusk wrote:
A build your own species system makes way more sense for Starfinder than prior fantasy focused efforts in other systems like the Advanced Race guide or Savage Species. I'm not sure on the value though of the generic NPCs. More lore is always appreciated though.

I think they have some utility!

Other than Pact Worlds there hasn't been any NPC lists, something I criticized Near Space for. I know what a generic mercenary's CR should be, or a Hellknight, or Iomedaen. I have no idea what your average Vesk soldier's CR should be, or what equipment comes standard in their armed forces.


Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

I just want more info/options on the beautiful Haan and Embri and I would be happy.

Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

It always bugged me that species wasn't used. Anyway, looking forward to the book!

Second Seekers (Luwazi Elsebo)

4 people marked this as a favorite.

Should be called the apotheosisist, as evolution does not have a fixed point that's it's heading to but instead responds to current selective pressures without any end goal in mind. But I suppose trying to pronounce that would result in too much slobber on the battlemat...


9 people marked this as a favorite.

"A new class, the evolutionist, allows you to transform yourself over time into an eldritch being, mechanized construct, sepulchral undead, or riot of biological potential, each with unique abilities—and drawbacks, should you allow your transformation to grow out of control."

Where have you been? Where have you been? Damn you! Where have you been?...How dare you! How dare you come to me now, when I am this!

Marketing & Media Manager

11 people marked this as a favorite.
The NPC wrote:

"A new class, the evolutionist, allows you to transform yourself over time into an eldritch being, mechanized construct, sepulchral undead, or riot of biological potential, each with unique abilities—and drawbacks, should you allow your transformation to grow out of control."

Where have you been? Where have you been? Damn you! Where have you been?...How dare you! How dare you come to me now, when I am this!

The Last Unicorn. Amazeballs.


Can we be told if the Evolutionist every fully changes creature type? Humanoid to undead/aberration/etc?


The NPC wrote:
Can we be told if the Evolutionist every fully changes creature type? Humanoid to undead/aberration/etc?

In the playtest, that was the level 20 bonus. You got some immunities and your type changed.

I honestly thought it should happen sooner. I suppose we'll see when it comes out.


Pathfinder Rulebook, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

I think the idea is your character slowly changes into whatever you want as they level. Mechanically they would fully become whatever it is they become at level 20, when their type changes and they gain immunities or other benefits. That's how I look at it anyway. If you have a PC that's a human but is slowly turning into a dragon, they could basically look like a dragon early on in their career (just not gaining mechanical benefits)


Dracomicron wrote:
The NPC wrote:
Can we be told if the Evolutionist every fully changes creature type? Humanoid to undead/aberration/etc?

In the playtest, that was the level 20 bonus. You got some immunities and your type changed.

I honestly thought it should happen sooner. I suppose we'll see when it comes out.

Cool. At lest it happens at all.

IS the playtest document still available?


2 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
The NPC wrote:
Dracomicron wrote:
The NPC wrote:
Can we be told if the Evolutionist every fully changes creature type? Humanoid to undead/aberration/etc?

In the playtest, that was the level 20 bonus. You got some immunities and your type changed.

I honestly thought it should happen sooner. I suppose we'll see when it comes out.

Cool. At lest it happens at all.

IS the playtest document still available?

Yes, it's available here.


Luthorne wrote:
The NPC wrote:
Dracomicron wrote:
The NPC wrote:
Can we be told if the Evolutionist every fully changes creature type? Humanoid to undead/aberration/etc?

In the playtest, that was the level 20 bonus. You got some immunities and your type changed.

I honestly thought it should happen sooner. I suppose we'll see when it comes out.

Cool. At lest it happens at all.

IS the playtest document still available?

Yes, it's available here.

Thank you :)


3 people marked this as a favorite.

Speculation on my reaction to the content of this book: First, disappointment when a species I particularly enjoy is not one of the ones chosen for this book. Then reading and being blown away what the writers did with the species in it, ha. Looking forward to it.

Oh, and I do hope species is wholesale replacing race in Starfinder. Including reprints of previous books, honestly. I just wonder what the adjective "racial" could be changed into, I guess species as an attributive noun instead still works. Species modifier. Yeah.


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

"Species" and "ancestral," for me.

Marketing & Media Manager

9 people marked this as a favorite.

My understanding is that we are using "species" going forward. It has been something we adopted internally some time ago. But don't expect past products to be updated.


3 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Rulebook, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
The NPC wrote:
Luthorne wrote:
The NPC wrote:
Dracomicron wrote:
The NPC wrote:
Can we be told if the Evolutionist every fully changes creature type? Humanoid to undead/aberration/etc?

In the playtest, that was the level 20 bonus. You got some immunities and your type changed.

I honestly thought it should happen sooner. I suppose we'll see when it comes out.

Cool. At lest it happens at all.

IS the playtest document still available?

Yes, it's available here.
Thank you :)

Just wanted to say, as someone crazy excited for the class, after you check out the playtest document for evolutionist, there's an interview with John Compton about upcoming changes to the class. It's a know direction beyond interview, number 66. I've done a write up of the major points in the playtest forums. Just saying because the changes are awesome!

Marketing & Media Manager

2 people marked this as a favorite.
Gaulin wrote:
The NPC wrote:
Luthorne wrote:
The NPC wrote:
Dracomicron wrote:
The NPC wrote:
Can we be told if the Evolutionist every fully changes creature type? Humanoid to undead/aberration/etc?

In the playtest, that was the level 20 bonus. You got some immunities and your type changed.

I honestly thought it should happen sooner. I suppose we'll see when it comes out.

Cool. At lest it happens at all.

IS the playtest document still available?

Yes, it's available here.
Thank you :)
Just wanted to say, as someone crazy excited for the class, after you check out the playtest document for evolutionist, there's an interview with John Compton about upcoming changes to the class. It's a know direction beyond interview, number 66. I've done a write up of the major points in the playtest forums. Just saying because the changes are awesome!

Know Direction: Beyond 66 – Evolutionist Retrospective


Aaron Shanks wrote:
Gaulin wrote:
The NPC wrote:
Luthorne wrote:
The NPC wrote:
Dracomicron wrote:
The NPC wrote:
Can we be told if the Evolutionist every fully changes creature type? Humanoid to undead/aberration/etc?

In the playtest, that was the level 20 bonus. You got some immunities and your type changed.

I honestly thought it should happen sooner. I suppose we'll see when it comes out.

Cool. At lest it happens at all.

IS the playtest document still available?

Yes, it's available here.
Thank you :)
Just wanted to say, as someone crazy excited for the class, after you check out the playtest document for evolutionist, there's an interview with John Compton about upcoming changes to the class. It's a know direction beyond interview, number 66. I've done a write up of the major points in the playtest forums. Just saying because the changes are awesome!
Know Direction: Beyond 66 – Evolutionist Retrospective

Cool. Thank you. :)

Wayfinders Contributor

6 people marked this as a favorite.

I am so excited to see this one announced. It's going to be a beautiful book!


2 people marked this as a favorite.

I wonder if the species builder will support playing as undead & constructs, given SROs & Varculak have already shown such species can be valid without having to go the dhampir/borai route of 'half-undead'.


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path, Rulebook Subscriber

I haven't glanced at Starfinder in a while, but randomly saw this and it sounds really cool! I'll have to give it a look. Even if I only play PF2e, I've always enjoys looking over at the wide array of playable species in Starfinder and what they're all about, and this looks like the best version of that so far.

Paizo Employee Starfinder Senior Developer

16 people marked this as a favorite.

The more I'm working on this book, the more excited I become about its art. These illustrations turned out so well!

Dark Archive

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

I do hope art is consistent though, sometimes species art in starfinder can vary a lot biology wise :'D

(like sometimes giving mammaries to species that have never had mammaries or differing from physical description of species or like how all kasatha seem to have single color eyes except exactly one character who has clear small human like eyes)

(sidenote, I find it funny how I get briefly confused by other people sharing my avatar being like "wait I didn't post that post" xD )


4 people marked this as a favorite.
CorvusMask wrote:

I do hope art is consistent though, sometimes species art in starfinder can vary a lot biology wise :'D

(like sometimes giving mammaries to species that have never had mammaries or differing from physical description of species or like how all kasatha seem to have single color eyes except exactly one character who has clear small human like eyes)

(sidenote, I find it funny how I get briefly confused by other people sharing my avatar being like "wait I didn't post that post" xD )

One of my players gets annoyed whenever they see a kasatha with a protuding nose.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Milo v3 wrote:
CorvusMask wrote:

I do hope art is consistent though, sometimes species art in starfinder can vary a lot biology wise :'D

(like sometimes giving mammaries to species that have never had mammaries or differing from physical description of species or like how all kasatha seem to have single color eyes except exactly one character who has clear small human like eyes)

(sidenote, I find it funny how I get briefly confused by other people sharing my avatar being like "wait I didn't post that post" xD )

One of my players gets annoyed whenever they see a kasatha with a protuding nose.

Yeaaaaaaah considering how they started out as having flatter face in the art... Its weird how lot of artists keep adding more human features to alien species. Even to animal head ones


2 people marked this as a favorite.

Kinda wish this would have been an Absalom Station book honestly, but looking forward to the new class at least.

Tom


1 person marked this as a favorite.

This sounds cool. Hopefully the "deep dive" is at least as much fluff about culture and history ( and *lists of example names* ), as things like feats and gear.

Scarab Sages

really looking forward to this - sounds great! especially with the big void left by avoiding Drift Crisis ... no book in May. :-(

Marketing & Media Manager

10 people marked this as a favorite.

For those who might be confused, caribet seems to have decided Drift Crisis is not for them. But Starfinder Drift Crisis is indeed the May/June release.


I just really hope the Talphi of Vesk-4 are included in this. Based on Near Space, they are such an important part of the Veskarium, there are other races from Veskarium and even Vesk-4 that don't have player stats, but their importance pales in comparison to that of the Talphi so I really hope they are included in this.

Otherwise I am completely happy whether everything else is all knew, statblocks for previously mentioned races, or expansions upon things from the AAs


3 people marked this as a favorite.

I'm really hoping we get a lot of 'alternate racial traits' in this book. The ability to 'customize' and switch out a lot of racial benefits would really go a long way in helping out the more obscure races. In addition, I do hope the Envoy and Witchwarper get a little love too (I'm mostly crossing my fingers that we'll get a good replacement for the 'infinite worlds' ability lol).

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