I just picked up Far Distant Future Publishing's
Awesome Ancestries: Variant Species Options Vol. 2 - Multiverse of Mayhem (affiliate link) for PF1.
I have to take a moment to express my awe for Far Distant Future Publishing as a company...by which I mean for Bryan Mangum personally, since as far as I can tell FDFP is a one-man enterprise. In the space of almost exactly ten months, he's put out just shy of
sixty products, most of which (though not all) are for PF1. Maybe it's just me, but that's a truly staggering level of output, and I can't help but be wowed by it, as well as eminently thankful.
Of that number, nearly half of those are part of his "Awesome Ancestries" line, which present either new races or new options for existing races. While most of these books lean toward the former, this is (as the title suggests) one of those times where we get more of the latter (though even here we get an entirely new race: the gnoblin, which is exactly what it sounds like).
Part of the reason I like FDFP's material isn't just how rapidly it comes out, but also because Mangum really knows his stuff. A significant number of the options here seek to fill various niches that various races have made over the years, and there are a lot of nods to presentations that those races have had throughout the life of D&D.
What do I mean by that? Well, in a clear nod to current events, goblins (and hobgoblins) have racial variants that are of the Fey type. Likewise, there's a look back at yesteryear with an alternate racial ability for elves that lets them perform a short-range teleport, and another that gives them wings. Not to mention options for dog-faced kobolds and pig-faced orcs. Things like this are replete throughout the book.
Interestingly, there's also a section near the end with "planar" versions of classic races. These are presented as being stronger than their terrestrial counterparts, giving them extra abilities with no drawbacks; ARG-style
race point totals make it clear just how much stronger these are, and while they're definitely stronger than average, none of these should upset anyone's game. Besides, it's cool to have dwarves with an inherent ability to create magic items even if they aren't spellcasters, elves who are truly ageless, orcs that are literal hulking brutes, etc.
Overall, I really enjoyed what's here, which is entirely within expectations. Hopefully Mangum can keep up this level of work, both in terms of the pace of releases and the quality of them, for a long time to come.