Starfinder: Alien Archive 3 [RPG]

 Paizo released its third Alien Archive for Starfinder (first edition) in 2019, continuing the initial annual release schedule.  I rated the first two as excellent, if pricey.  Now, (too many) years later, what do I think of the third one?  I’ll make up my mind as I write the review!

 

Let’s start with the cover: a shining valkyrie, an insect-like jinsul, and a little plant-creature raxilite (I think?) stand on rampart, firing outward.  It’s okay, but doesn’t wow me.  The inside front-cover and inside back-cover have the standard decorative map of the Pact Worlds system.  There’s then a two-page table of contents and a two-page overview that has the usual (but useful) “How to Read a Creature Stat Block”.

 

The core of the book is, of course, pages and pages of new species: each of the 66 gets two pages of coverage.  I’ve talked before how Starfinder has concise stat blocks, so there’s always lot of room for lore development.  I think the artwork is okay, but a step below what appeared in the first two books.  I obviously can’t go through each new species one by one, but I’m going to call out a few that I found especially interesting.

 

·       There are twenty new playable races.  The animals-as-humanoids trend is strong, with brenneri (otters), dromada (kangaroos), expraksa (birds), hanakan (velociraptors), ijtikri (squids; these were everywhere for a while!), morlamaws (walruses; a great import from SFS), and telia (turtles).  Having played the game for a decade, I tend to think that most of the choice of race is cosmetic because the special racial abilities are few and fairly minor.  My preference would have been fewer playable races but more depth and meaningful differences between them.

 

·       Along with morlamaws (above), I was really happy to see some of the creatures introduced in Starfinder Society make it to the big time!  Jinsuls and izalguun are other imports.

 

·       Similarly, some of the creatures from Free RPG Day materials make an appearance, like animated armor and stridermanders.

 

·       A few entries that really stuck out to me: Drift natives (time-eaters that are great for GM plots), ferrofluid oozes and living holograms (I’ve fought these a million times in scenarios now!), quantum slimes (love the doubling effect), shakalta (playable race; twin-souls in one body, so must multiclass!), thorgothrel (intelligent oozes that believe in de-evolving all humanoid life—fun motivation!), rendalairn (a CR 25 colossal death orb!)

 

After the entries, there’s a substantive ten-page feature that introduces Creature Companions to the game.  How this works is that each PC is allowed to purchase one Creature Companion.  At base, a Creature Companion can only take one move action each round.  A PC can take a feat to trade their standard action in a given round to their Creature Companion (or, at Level 4, take another feat to give up just a move action so their Creature Companion can have a standard action).  I *really* like this, as it intelligently alters the action economy to keep “pets” from overshadowing other PCs—while still making them situationally useful.  Several example Creature Companions are given, as well as some new gear (I think the environmental field collar would be a must-have).

 

There’s not a lot that’s worth discussing in regards to the nine appendices (20 pages), with “Creatures by Terrain” and “Creatures by Pact World” the only ones I would consult other than the Universal Creature Rules.

 

That’s Alien Archive 3.  I don’t think it’s a must-have.  But now that the prices have come down, it’s a much better deal for 160 pages of material than before.