Look at this race. Isn’t it keen? A cephalopod-person called a scyleen. Wouldn’t it add to a world, a world that has…everything?

Well, let’s find out.

Racial Repository: The Scyleen is a ten-page supplement for Pathfinder First Edition from Kristopher Cruz’s Golden Glyph Publishing, released via Fat Goblin Games. After one page each for the front and back covers, one page of credits, and one page for the OGL, we’re left with six pages of content in total. I’ll take a moment to talk about the art here: the three full-color pieces do a great job showcasing what typical scyleen look like, and I especially loved the one of a scyleen in an octasuit! The tentacle-borders around each page were a nice touch as well.

What caught my interest right off the bat is that this Racial Repository is also a Starjammer-compatible supplement. While the mechanics here can be near-totally used without any reference to spacefaring settings (the only exceptions are the two new pieces of non-magical equipment, and the race’s “void vulnerability” racial trait), the flavor text is presented from the context of a spacefaring society. In this regard, the scyleen are introduced as being a race of sensuous artists, their long lifespans, unusual but not unattractive physiology, and latent psychic sensitivity making them mysterious without being unapproachable. Their description even contrasts them with the cecaelia from Bestiary 3, noting that they’re different races with no common ancestry.

Now, normally the flavor text of a race is something of an extra, since it can be discarded or altered into whatever’s necessary to reflavor the mechanics in question. But I have to take a moment to applaud just how well the mechanics reflect and complement the flavor text here. Everything I’ve described in the above paragraph is represented via game rules for the scyleen, something that far too many races don’t bother with. Would-be designers should take note of what’s here: this is how you build a race that comes across as unique and interesting, rather than just another collection of generic bonuses.

Nor does this strength stop with the flavor text: the mechanics are tightly-knit and take advantage of the various expansions that have been released for Pathfinder 1E over the years. For example, the scyleen racial traits all have their RP points given, letting the GM see their total allotment (16 RP) and judge accordingly if he wants to use them as a PC race in his or her campaign. Note that while this racial breakdown might seem high, several points relate to aquatic advantages; if your campaign doesn’t spend much time underwater (which is entirely possible, as this race has no water-based dependency), a scyleen won’t seem nearly as powerful as the numbers would otherwise indicate.

But that’s just the bare minimum. We’re also given four alternate racial traits (also with RP values), including one that maximizes their utility if you’re planning on staying above the waves. There are over a half-dozen favored class options, and a new racial archetype (though I’ll note that it doesn’t say it’s restricted “only” to scyleen characters).

I have to take a moment to talk about how much I enjoyed this archetype. The “witch of the depths,” for the witch class (obviously), sacrifices a few hexes in order to be able to make a contract with someone. Doing so allows for a transmutation spell to be permanently laid on them, in exchange for them also suffering from a permanent curse, all active so long as a token of the agreement exists. Now, given the tentacle’d nature of the scyleen, this homage needs no pointing out where it came from. But it’s so brilliantly done, so simply and adroitly presented, that I’m honestly surprised I haven’t seen it before now. This archetype alone is worth the price of purchase, and then some.

New equipment comes next, and as noted this is the only part (besides their race taking damage in a vacuum) that’s not really useable in a high fantasy world. Specifically because the new equipment is a spacesuit suited for their body type, and a machine to extract materials from a body of water. This last one might sound pointless, but the expansive description does a good job pointing out the potential uses, even if they aren’t something that combat-focused players will care about. The ability to purify water while simultaneously gathering potentially-valuable materials in the process is a great bit of flavor for this race, and we’re given just enough game rules to make it viable if someone wants to get into the nitty-gritty of how it works. It’s another example of the details making the overall presentation shine.

A few new feats and new APG race traits round things out. While none wowed me quite as much as some of the earlier material, everything here plays into what’s already established for the scyleen, such as increasing the efficacy of their tentacles at grappling or allowing them to have a heightened empathic bond with a chosen individual. Smartly, the product also remembers to include their starting ages, age categories, and height and weight tables. Bravo there! A lot of products forget those details. The book closes out with a GMG settlement stat block for an example scyleen colony (which I kind of wish had a name, but won’t penalize it for omitting).

Overall, the scyleen is an excellent product in every category. The flavor text fit the mechanics perfectly, the mechanics themselves were excellently constructed, they covered all of the bases that new races should when introduced this late in the PF1 life-cycle, and the entire package covers a niche that’s largely underserved but easily recognizable thanks to its smart focus on a few standout factors for what makes scyleen unique. You should definitely consider making the scyleen…

Part of your (campaign) world.