Ultimate Alien Anthology

[IronWolf]

With over 75% new material. the Ultimate Alien Anthology is a revised and updated collection of over 125 alien species suitable for play as characters in the Star Wars RPG. This information is usable for gameplay in all eras of the Star Wars timeline and includes expanded universe aliens and new prestige classes and feats tied to those aliens.

 

[HalWhitewyrm]

Ultimate Alien Anthology

I’m not a big fan of "race" books—books full of races and races for your game. Generally the ones included in the game’s core book are good enough, with sparse additions from time to time. So the concept of the Ultimate Alien Anthology was already flawed as far as I was concerned, except for one small detail: this is a Star Wars book. Star Wars is all about aliens in far-off worlds somehow getting along (or warring) with each other, so a book full of aliens for my game (and always-expanding reservoir of Star Wars trivia) was definitely worth a look, all bias aside. I am glad I did.

The Ultimate Alien Anthology lives up to its name, providing over 180 races to enhance your game. Right away I have to say, the fact they included the core races was a definite plus to me; I much prefer something calling itself the Ultimate anything be precisely that. If anything, I would’ve liked to see Humans included in there as well, for completion purposes. But I digress. While by no means including all the various alien species ever to grace the Star Wars universe, the selection is vast and covers all eras of play. For the curious, here’s the complete list of races:

Abyssin, Adarian, Advozse, Amanin, Anomid, Anx, Anzati, Aqualish, Arcona, Arkanian, Ayrou, Balosar, Barabel, Baragwin, Bartokk, Besalisk, Bimm, Bith, Blood Carver, Bothan, Caamasi, Caarite, Cathar, Celegian, Cerean, Chadra-Fan, Chagrian, Charon, Chev, Chevin, Chiss, Clawdite, Codru-Ji, Colicoid, Cragmoloid, Dantari, Dashade, Defel, Devaronian, Draethos, Drall, Dressellian, Dug, Duros, Ebranite, Elom, Elomin, Em’liy, Ewok, Falleen, Farghul, Feeorin, Filordus, Frozian, Gamorrean, Gand, Geonosian, Givin, Gossam, Gotal, Gran, Gungan, Herglic, H’nemthe, Ho’Din, Houk, Hutt, Iktotchi, Iotran, Ishi Tib, Ithorian, Jawa, Jenet, Kaminoan, Kel Dor, Kerestian, Khil, Khommite, Kian’thar, Kitonak, Klatooinianm Koorivar, Krevaaki, Krish, Kubaz, Kushiban, Lannik, Lepi, Menahuun, Miraluka, Mon Calamari, Morseerian, Mrlssi, Muun, Myneyrsh, Nagai, Nautolan, Nazzar, Neimoidian, Neti, Nikto, Esral’sa’Nikto, Gluss’sa’Nikto, Kadas’sa’Nikto, Kajain’sa’Nikto, M’shento’su’Nikto, Nimbanel, Noehon, Noghri, Nosaurian, Nuknog, Omwati, Ortolan, Pacithhip, Pa’lowick, Phindian, Pho Ph’eahian, Psadan, Quarren, Quermian, Qwohog, Ranat, Ranth, Rodian, Ruurian, Rybet, Ryn, Sakiyan, Sanyassan, Sarkan, Sauvax, Selonian, Shi’ido, Shistavanen, Skakoan, Skrilling, S’kytri, Sludir, Sluissi, Snivvian, Spiner, Squib, Ssi-Ruu, Sullustan, Talz, Tarasin, Tarro, Temolak, Thakwaash, Thisspiasian, Tiss’shar, Togorian, Togruta, Toong, Toydarian, Trandoshan, Trianii, T’surr, Tunroth, Tusken Raider, Twi’lek, Ubese, Ugnaught, Umbaran, Verpine, Vodran, Vor, Vratix, Vuvrian, Weequay, Whiphid, Wookiee, Woostoid. Xexto, Yarkora, Yevetha, Yinchorri, Yuuzhan Vong, Yuzzem, Zabrak, Zehethbra, and Zeltron.

Each race is presented with a short introduction that places the race within the Star Wars universe (and provides some interesting tidbits of more Star Wars canon material), and with player race-style write-ups. A sample commoner is also included, as well as pieces of equipment and other race-specific items scattered all about. You can have an NPC ready to tangle with your PCs in less than a minute, and that is a great advantage for any Gamemaster.

The next chapter has a few prestige classes somewhat tailored to the theme of Races. The prestige classes are nothing out this world (no pun intended) and are simply good to round out the whole package. Force adepts are probably going to be very happy about the selection of prestige classes, as will those playing strange archaic concepts (big game hunter, anyone?) or those seeking to enhance their new race’s abilities (aerobats and changelings are cool if you can fly or shapeshift, respectively). The feats introduced in the book are, again, specific to some of the races (or types of races) or prestige classes covered in the book, and are just okay. You don’t buy this book for the prestige classes or the feats, so they make nice additions without detracting from the value. At the end there is an Appendix on the Yuuzhan Vong, providing tips on how to modify the core classes to fit them, and general tips on running campaigns with this race.

The most useful items the book has are the table of contents at the beginning, and the home-world index at the back; talk about usefulness for a gamer. I simply wish all game books were as well indexed as this one.

The artwork is good enough; I’m not an artist, so I can’t comment much on the actual styles used by the different artists, though I appreciate the clear way in which each race was depicted (police line-up style), as well as each prestige class.

I think my only complain with the book is the issue of balance. The races are wildly different one from the other, and for the most part, they are not balanced one against the other. As far as the book is concerned, a jawa and a hutt are equally balanced, stat-wise. This, of course, is not true. The d20 concept of Equivalent Class Level (or ECL), where a stronger race may actually have virtual class levels as part of its racial write-up in order to balance it against other, weaker races, would have gone a long way towards achieving pure harmony. As it is, it is up to each Gamemaster to determine a way to balance out the races if they happen to show up together in a party.

If you are a Star Wars gamer, or even a Star Wars fan, then this book is for you, providing a great combination of value for both players and Gamemasters alike. I may still have my whole bias against Race books, but if they were all like the Ultimate Alien Anthology, I would probably change my mind.

Title: Ultimate Alien Anthology
Authors: Eric Cagle, Cory Herndon, Michael Mikaelian, Steve Miller, Owen K.C. Stephens, JD Wiker
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Pages: 224
Cost: $34.95 (US)
Available: Now

 

[Messageboard Golem]

By John Grigsby, Staff Reviewer

Sizing Up the Target
The Ultimate Alien Anthology is a STAR WARS supplement from Wizards of the Coast. This is a 224-page full-color hardcover by Eric Cagle, Cory J. Hendon, Michael Mikaelian, Steve Miller, Owen K.C. Stephens, and JD Wiker. The wrap-around cover art features a cantina scene by Tommy Lee Edwards and several fine talents contribute to the interior artwork, including Sam Wood and R.K. Post (perhaps best known for his work on the fan-favorite ALTERNITY game from TSR, Inc.). The Ultimate Alien Anthology retails for $34.95.

First Blood
One of the single most memorable scenes from all of the Star Wars movies is doubtlessly the cantina scene from Star Wars: A New Hope. In a brief, 15-minute scene, the viewer is given a glimpse at the incredible variety of life-forms that call the galaxy home. The later films expand the roster with even more intriguing and fascinating beings, but Star Wars role-playing products have always seemed to focus on the few prominently-featured alien races, leaving the countless others as backdrop and set dressing. Until now, that is.

In the Ultimate Alien Anthology, you will find a collection of 180 alien species, many of which have never been described in any role-playing product. From Star Wars: Episode I to Star Wars: Episode VI and beyond, dozens of beings both strange and wonderful can be found here. Yes, the Ewoks, Wookies, and Vuuzhan Vong are here, but so are species like the Vuvrians, Toydarians, and Kaminoans. If it has ever appeared in a Star Wars novel, comic book, or movie, there’s a fair chance that you’ll find it in here (assuming it has at least a reasonable intelligence).

Only intelligent species (and the term is sometimes loosely defined) are featured, and each is laid out in a format identical to the species from the core rulebook; background, personality, physical description, homeworld, language, sample names, age categories, adventurers, and species traits. Every creature in this book stands ready to be dropped right into a game as a player character and an example of a typical commoner of the race is provided for GMs to use at a moment’s notice. What is more, some species (such as the dressellians, for example) have favored weapons, armor, or other equipment. In a case such as this, the information is included with the information on the race.

A selection of 180 alien races is a lot of material, especially given that each and every race in the book is illustrated in full-color against a height chart for easy size reference. As if that weren’t enough, you also get eight new prestige classes (the aerobat, the beastwarden, the big-game hunter, the bodyguard, the changeling, the findsman, the mystic agent, and the telepath) and 16 new feats! Finally, there is a brief discussion on playing yuuzhan vong as the caste-based beings that they are and how the different classes fit into their society.

The extensive Table of Contents takes the place of an index, which instead focuses on the homeworlds of the various aliens in this book. I’m happy to note that the races from the core rulebook are included here, which makes me think that someone at Wizards might have read my review of the Arms & Equipment Guide and paid attention. If you’re going to do a “complete” work, it should be complete, don’t you think?

Critical Hits
If I had to point out a particular point, I guess it would be the artwork. It is one thing to describe a Ssi-ruuk to a player. It is another thing entirely to be able to point to a picture of one and see the expression on their faces. I would love to see Wizards of the Coast make the artwork from this available on their website (as they have done with so many of their products).

Critical Misses
With the variety of beings that exists in the Star Wars universe, it seems inevitable that someone’s favorite alien will be left out or forgotten, but the 180 they have chosen to include are sure to keep players and GMs busy for the extent of most campaigns. My only compliant is, once again, the issue of price. This book costs as much as the core rulebook, yet has 100 fewer pages! The quality and production values remain consistently high, but this is a supplement. Why should I have to pay as much as to buy the rules?

Coup de Grace
Other than the price, I am constantly blown away by Wizards’ handling of the Star Wars line. They have really pushed the limits of the license and are going far beyond the movies in their product lines. Though it lacks any Open Game Content, the d20 mechanics of the Ultimate Alien Anthology are right on target (what else would you expect?) and this book will serve both GMs and players equally well (assuming your GM lets you make use of the information herein).

To see the graded evaluation of this product and to leave comments that the reviewer will respond to, go to The Critic's Corner at www.d20zines.com.