I always see similar topics for the Pathfinder bestiaries and wondered why I haven't seen one for Alien Archives. I figured I'll do it.
Things I would like to see? I really would like Outer Dragons in this game. I think they're appropriate monsters to have starship scale statistics as well as statistics for "ground" combat. While something like this isn't complicated, it might take up a lot of space which can be a deterrent when making it in the books like this.
More Colossi. The Kyokor is a really neat monster and I've always been a fan of giant monsters. Though, I do appreciate massive monsters that I can use earlier against parties, usually meaning lower than CR20. Granted they planned for them to have lower CRs than 20. If not them then maybe another type of monster.
Anyway, that's all I can think of right now. Share your thoughts on what you want to see in the future.
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More inhabitants of aballon although some of this may come with the core world books. For a world of artificial life we only have a couple of examples of it.
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More mid tier monsters and aliens. Most the book is playable races or high tier aliens in my opinion.
I would like to see a few NPC versions of each of the player races. (Including those stupid human critters).
Animals and vermin!
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More mid tier monsters and aliens. Most the book is playable races or high tier aliens in my opinion.
+1000
CR 2-3-4
After all these are close to the levels we gonna see the most [imho].
These 3 CRs in numbers can provide challenge for 1 to 10!
I also need creatures like the Akashas, the Rivener and the Electrovites.
With some background but nothing more than smart beasts.
Some official conversions on the most demanding to convert monsters like
incorporeals or the outsiders would be nice too!
A flying avian race that is based on the best characteristics of tengu, strix, and syrinx, perhaps through the wonders of RNA manipulation, perhaps through deity tinkering, etc.
...and they're not total a-holes, either, but actually decent people.
Two different kinds of bears!
Drop-bears and Big Ol' Grizzly bears!
Other things I'd like to see are more robots. I think having a sort of "build a robot" table similar to animated objects in Pathfinder would be cool, but I'm thinking that maybe they don't really want to do it in that style in this game, though.
Maybe a robot that also has a "starship" form in addition to its normal statistics. Because while I like space monsters that you can battle with your ship, I do appreciate seeing what its statistics would be like on ground, unless it absolutely must be in space (Novaspawn).
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Giants! Where are all the big people? Granted you can use the rules in the back of the AA1 to make them, but still, I'd love to see Starfinder's take on a cloud giant.
Demons, devils, Daemons, Angels, and many other outer planer things that we know exist but are currently handwaving them.
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I could stand to see more space monsters with actual starship stats.
Giants! Where are all the big people? Granted you can use the rules in the back of the AA1 to make them, but still, I'd love to see Starfinder's take on a cloud giant.
They where all waiting to board the spaceships off Golarian but got held up by the "you must be this short to board" sign.
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The cat-people of Vesk-6.
New robots would be really nice, particularly more versions of anacites.
Also, bear-aliens. Like, a playable race of bear people. Please, please, please. I know animal-people as aliens is kind of played out...but still...
THE CAT-PEOPLE OF VESK-6 ARE A MENACE TO THE GALAXY ON A LEVEL UNSEEN! THEY ARE THE ULTIMATE ANNIHILATOR AND MUST BE DESTROYED!
-all ysoki ever
Not many things from Golarion.
It's been what, 10,000 years since The Gap. And they mention very little made it off world. So I don't want to see in every book, "Oh look we found a cave and buried inside was a tribe of [Insert Beastiary Monstery Here] thirty times. That defeats the purpose of having alien life, if every moon also has lions, tigers and owlbears.
That should be left up to a robust conversion ruleset to allow people to bring them into their own games, but the Alien Archives should be kept to mostly aliens.
Quadrupedal races. Pathfinder had a nasty habit of shying away from letting the players use anything beyond the Small and Medium range, and very much disliked the idea of PC Quadrupeds like centaurs, as that resulted in a Large Sized race and then you get to have bigger weapons and thus more damage.
Starfinder on the otherhand has given the player what is it, 4 Large Sized races, from the Alien Archive. Though none have been a true Quadruped, and there are many ideas they have yet to do as well.
Multi-Headed Race, this opens up many ways for interesting Player Characters. Single Limb Races, a species with 1 arm could also be very new and interesting to see how it builds. Parasitic Organism, think Venom or Carnage. Split Races, a species that can separate themselves into multiple parts, each acting on their own accord.
I really just want a lot more. I think it's insane that the original Monster Manual/Bestiary's had like 300 monsters in it representing what you'd find on one world, but they're expecting us to run a campaign spanning an entire galaxy with like 100. I love the CR rules in the back, and everything in the book was awesome, but anyone looking to run anything beyond the APs right now is going to spend a LOT of time hand making monsters or just short converting the ones from the bestiaries.
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Not many things from Golarion.
It's been what, 10,000 years since The Gap.
Its been 317 years since the gap.
Parasitic Organism, think Venom or Carnage.
There's one of these in 1-05, whether it will get stated or not is anyone's guess.
Split Races, a species that can separate themselves into multiple parts, each acting on their own accord.
Reverse barathu!
More eruciform (caterpillar/millipede like) creatures. And hopefully a playable one. Urogs are kinda close, but they are more crustacean-like however.
I would like to second the call for more outsiders.
More mid tier monsters and aliens. Most the book is playable races or high tier aliens in my opinion.
At first blush, I tend to agree.
Also MORE MONSTERS!
Honestly, I find the book a tad anemic for a monster manual. However, I'm a self-professed monster addict so I digress.
Thankfully, someone has a kick-starter out there for an alien bestiary for 5E and Starfinder. I won't name names (not sure if that would ruffle Paizo feathers), but you can google it.
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The cat-people of Vesk-6.
New robots would be really nice, particularly more versions of anacites.
Also, bear-aliens. Like, a playable race of bear people. Please, please, please. I know animal-people as aliens is kind of played out...but still...
THE CAT-PEOPLE OF VESK-6 ARE A MENACE TO THE GALAXY ON A LEVEL UNSEEN! THEY ARE THE ULTIMATE ANNIHILATOR AND MUST BE DESTROYED!
-all ysoki ever
The cat-people will push EVERYTHING off the table of the galaxy and scratch up time/space the moment our backs are turned! They must be stopped!
Do they come from Thudara?
No, they are definitely Kilrathi :(
Just as I been saying, you need technological tool using creatures that build spaceships and travel the Galaxy. One shouldn't have to create character sheets for the player character races when they are encountered as opponents. You need an Alien Archive entry which details a typical encounter with 1st level opponents. For higher levels you increase the number encounters an have few interesting higher level NPCs leading them.
That's assuming you're going to run campaigns that work like the AP's.
The NPC's in the AA are all awesome. However, if you want to run a "monster of the week" campaign, or a campaign centered around exploring new (uninhabited/abandoned) worlds, or one set exclusively planet side in a newly established colony, or something otherwise against the trope of the AP/main settings, you're going to need a lot of non-sentient and/or non-technological monsters to fight. Right now, to do that, I either have to hand build them or quick convert monsters out of one of the bestiaries from an entirely different game.
There's a lot of genre tropes that, right now, can't be done (easily) because there isn't enough meat in the books as published. I'm really disappointed in the size/scope of the AA1 book. When I was reading the CRB and seeing all those pictures of 8-legged 4-eyed gazelles and tentacled rhinocerouses I came away expecting a bunch of new animals and xenobiology in the alien archive. Having 20 extra PC races was certainly nice, but the universe right now feels empty of anything resembling an underlying ecosystem.
That's just how I feel about it, though. I'm initially planning on running the AP, so it doesn't prevent me from playing. But when I finish that, if I don't like the next AP, my group would probably quit and go back to DnD/PF without a LOT more background to build worlds with. I certainly won't pay another $30 for another skinny alien archive.
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More plants, more magical beasts, more dragon subtypes (especially lower CR Dragons, something similar to Spawn of Tiamat from D&D 3.5)
More template grafts. And also some alternate racial traits for some aliens just so you can customize some of the entries without having to build the whole damn thing yourself.
Also, if there's room, some more NPC load-outs.
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The thing is, the creatures that can travel between planets will be more common than the ones which are native to only one particular planet, and if you aren't on that planet, you won't encounter them. usually to travel between planets, you need a spaceship. Monsters that are too dumb to build a spaceship and aren't anyone's pets won't be typically encountered unless you are on their planet.
Or an invasive species, test subject, intentional transplant, etc. My point is there is a valid reason to have more non-sentient mid-range monsters.
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It's also a huge assumption that every (or even the majority) campaign is going to spend the bulk of it's time in space dealing with other spacefaring creatures.
When my group played spelljammer, back in the day, we spent at least 2/3rds of the campaign "on the ground" doing typical fantasy RPG stuff. Dungeon crawls, city saving, overthrowing kingdoms, that sort of stuff. Unless there was some pivotal plot point, the only interactions we had "in space" were either roleplaying encounters or random run ins with space whales, scro, or pirates.
If I want to, as part of a campaign, have the PC's go to a new colony and save the colony from an overrun of local tribble-monsters, I'm going to have to hand build them and everything else in that eco-system that interacts with them or is between the colony and the tribble-monster nest. I'm not a full-time game developer. I don't have time for that.
The least they could have done was given us 20-30 pages of pre-built but non-descript "ambush predator (aquatic) CR 8" or "large aggressive herbivore (land) CR 4" type monsters. Then all I'd have to do is supply the descriptions and flavor text or make minor adjustments and move on. I really can't imagine playing anything other than the AP's or one-shots with what's available in the AA1. If they're going to do an AA2, I'd like a lot of that in the book. I don't need 40 different versions of "lions", but having a generic pounce animal at a couple different CR's would be useful. Otherwise, I really don't see the point.
It's also a huge assumption that every (or even the majority) campaign is going to spend the bulk of it's time in space dealing with other spacefaring creatures.
When my group played spelljammer, back in the day, we spent at least 2/3rds of the campaign "on the ground" doing typical fantasy RPG stuff. Dungeon crawls, city saving, overthrowing kingdoms, that sort of stuff. Unless there was some pivotal plot point, the only interactions we had "in space" were either roleplaying encounters or random run ins with space whales, scro, or pirates.
If I want to, as part of a campaign, have the PC's go to a new colony and save the colony from an overrun of local tribble-monsters, I'm going to have to hand build them and everything else in that eco-system that interacts with them or is between the colony and the tribble-monster nest. I'm not a full-time game developer. I don't have time for that.
The least they could have done was given us 20-30 pages of pre-built but non-descript "ambush predator (aquatic) CR 8" or "large aggressive herbivore (land) CR 4" type monsters. Then all I'd have to do is supply the descriptions and flavor text or make minor adjustments and move on. I really can't imagine playing anything other than the AP's or one-shots with what's available in the AA1. If they're going to do an AA2, I'd like a lot of that in the book. I don't need 40 different versions of "lions", but having a generic pounce animal at a couple different CR's would be useful. Otherwise, I really don't see the point.
That's a really good idea, about thirty pages or so of generic templates you can fit in just about anywhere would be super nice for encounters, so I don't have to deal with "What is X doing here? I thought they were native to Y."
A new outsider (mostly fiends) for each of the outsider races. Qlippoth, daemon, demon, asura, kyton, ect., along with perhaps updates to old ones. Possibly a new form of outsider that was either rare or simply did not exist but does now because of what has changed since the gap, or has come into being because of something that happened during the gap. Maybe some outsiders (excluding ones like the qlippoth as they aren't born of mortal souls) not based on the humanoid frame but on very different forms, or at least some of the different races.
Updates to old templates, like half-fiend, half-celestial, kyton apostle, lycanthrope (and entothrope)..
And imagine for a moment a kyton-made ship, a living writhing mass of flesh, or what they could do with the flesh of a race like the barathu.
And speaking of aberrations: Aboleth.
Separate playable races and creatures.
More creatures, classic and original.
Include creatures from the adventure paths, with the planetary origin.
If we got Pathfinder's versions of Godzilla (Mogaru) and the Xenomorphs (Hive creatures), how about more?
- Chozo (Metroid)
- Lombax (Ratchet & Clank)
- Sangheili (Halo)
- Nopon (Xenoblade)
- Granshee (Rogue Galaxy)
- Locust (Gears of War)
- any race from Mass Effect
oh, big ol' second on Aboleth. Especially after the most recent Pathfinder AP. I REALLY want them in SPACE now!
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oh, big ol' second on Aboleth. Especially after the most recent Pathfinder AP. I REALLY want them in SPACE now!
While I'm not sure anyone would find this useful, but I did throw together statistics for a space aboleth that uses starship statistics (it's not actually a starship, it's an aboleth)
Its weapon attacks are meant to simulate "eye beam" attacks that I would otherwise give a Starfinder aboleth.
LE Tiny starship aberration
Speed 6; Maneuverability perfect (turn 0)
AC 16; TL 16
HP 30; DT n/a; CT 6
Shields Basic 40 (forward 10, port 10, starboard 10, aft 10)
Attack (Forward) light graser +6 (3d6), tentacles +6 (1d8)
Attack (Turret) gyrolaser +6 (1d8)
Offensive Abilities illusionary magic, tentacles
skills Computers +14, Engineering +12, Piloting +15
Power Core(s) Aboleth Heart(100 PCU); Drift Engine None;
Systems basic long-range sensors, mk 4 armor, mk 4 defences,
mk 2 duonode computer (tier 1), Expansion Bays none
Modifiers +2 any two checks per round, +2 Computers, +3 Piloting
Other abilities aboleth starship, starflight
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SPECIAL ABILITIES
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Aboleth Starship (Su)
Certain aboleths that have the ability to survive in the void of space use starship statistics when encountered in space. It has no crew, though it can still take engineer, gunner, pilot, and science officer actions using the skill bonuses listed above. Assume it has 2 ranks in the Computers, Engineering, and Piloting skills and a base attack bonus of +2.
Illusionary Magic (Su)
The aboleth uses its potent illusionary magic to fool onlookers of its actual position. The aboleth can spend 1 resolve point to move 1 hex and gain +4 to its AC against a single ship's attacks. It can choose to use this ability after the result of any attack roll against the aboleth is revealed.
Tentacles (Ex)
The long tentacles that flow from an aboleth's forward arc are strong enough to make tentacle attacks. An Aboleth can only make tentacle attacks against tiny starships that is in a hex adjacent to the aboleth and in its forward arc.
Few Aboleths have taken it upon themselves to use their magical capabilities to traverse the void of space. Their tentacles and eye beams allow them to cut through the hulls of smaller starships. Their magic helps shield themselves from harm, and their high intellect essentially functions as a powerful computer
A new outsider (mostly fiends) for each of the outsider races. Qlippoth, daemon, demon, asura, kyton, ect., along with perhaps updates to old ones. Possibly a new form of outsider that was either rare or simply did not exist but does now because of what has changed since the gap, or has come into being because of something that happened during the gap. Maybe some outsiders (excluding ones like the qlippoth as they aren't born of mortal souls) not based on the humanoid frame but on very different forms, or at least some of the different races.
That reminds me of an odd idea I had. Upon seeing how alien the Qlippoth were I wondered about a role for them in space. Then it hit me. They got summoned to a world as the enemy of encroaching demons and set about not just defeating the demons but slaughtering the innocents and trapping the chaotic evil souls to keep them from moving on to the Abyss.
The Qlippoth then realize the universe is too big to remove all those who can become demons by slaying innocents before they can be corrupted and set up a "rehab" center. Chaotic evil souls are sent their and tortured until they see the error of being demon seeds. If they risk dying before changing alignment their souls are trapped.
That is an interesting notion. Though: I think they could make use of utukku qlippoth methods, compelling the souls to trade away their conversion into petitioners and in time demons to instead become just quintessence that becomes a part of the abyss. Or.. if they have the souls.. just destroy them, use them for fuel. Perhaps an enterprising form of qlippoth have taken to daemon and devil inspired methods, using souls (mainly those destined for the abyss) as fuel and construction materials (perhaps.. even a qlippoth inspired loosely by Eberron's Daelkyr, because even just a vaguely humanoid shaped qlippoth would screw with people.)
Sentient Planets - Ex: Mogo, Ego, Solaris
Someone you can stand on and talk to.
I would like to see the inclusion of Racial Archetypes that players can take to broaden and enhance their racial abilities. It would allow for some of the potentially more powerful races (I am looking at you Grays and Dragonkin) to get their full suite of capabilities and still be balanced.
AtD
I'd like to see a summonable, sentient A.I. that can haunt technological devices, providing assistance for computer-based skill checks, or causing hostile technology to malfunction. It could even potentially take control of cybernetic implants. Defeating it would involve a scenario of computer or engineering checks like a technological exorcism, destroying the device it is operating, or a successful charisma check to talk it out of its logic process. It could also make a fun familiar (whenever we get those rules).