Starfinder Interstellar Species

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

*gasp IN SPACE*

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.

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

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.

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.

Yay species time!

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

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.)

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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...

"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!

"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?

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.

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)

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?

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.

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 :)

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.

"Species" and "ancestral," for me.

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.

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!

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

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. :)

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

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'.

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.

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

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 )

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.

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

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

Tom

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.

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

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

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).