Before starting this review of Boricubos: The Lost Isles, we want to thank Legendary Games for sending us a copy of the manual; it is a setting manual for Pathfinder Second Edition that introduces Caribbean and Puerto Rican folklore and myths. Inside there are various types of content: many new options for the characters, a deep and detailed lore, new equipment, new spells and three introductory adventures.
In case this manual catches your attention, please note that it is available on the official store at a cost of $ 19.99 (about € 18.50) for the digital copy, $ 39.99 (about € 37) for the physical one and $ 44.99 (about € 41.50) ) for a bundle that includes both. If you use the code NDU10 at checkout, you will get a 10% discount on your order!
The author of this work is Miguel Colon, a native of the places of inspiration for these contents. I really appreciated this detail, because, starting from the introduction, it communicates a great passion (and therefore care) for what he wrote. And usually it is from passion that quality is born. Without hesitating further, let’s open Boricubos: The Lost Isles and let’s start this review!
The Setting: the Boricubos Archipelago
All the new elements introduced by this manual belong to a specific territory: the archipelago of Boricubos; a map shows us its islands and the ocean that laps the coasts of each of them. These territories are large enough to constitute a separate game world; in the same way, thanks to its rich heterogeneity, it can easily be inserted in any PF2e setting.
The archipelago includes various tropical landscapes; in fact you can find jungles, volcanoes, bays, tribal encampments and sacred places. As it is easy to guess, most of the interesting places are made up of natural elements. However, each main island is characterized in such a way as to make it interesting and different from the others. There are also more detailed descriptions for the Game Master of the various locations (known and secret), including the names of the main NPCs and useful details to give depth to each adventure set in these places, but to avoid spoilers I will not say more.
The threats that generate action and break the tranquility of this place are also (mostly) natural. A Plague is affecting the nature of these lands. Local fauna is dangerous, both on land and in the ocean. The inhabitants, in addition to being in conflict, must know how to defend themselves from these threats (and any external colonizers), or worship the specific divinities of these places to obtain protection and support. The gods of Boricubos are strongly linked to the natural forces that have always influenced the life of peoples: the ocean, the volcano, the storms, the moon and more. However, they are active entities and, with their conflicts, they condition the life of the inhabitants.
And the typical peoples of this setting are a fundamental element of its uniqueness!
The Protagonists: the New Ancestries
The Anabaguas are small and ancient anthropomorphic plants created by the gods in order to spread life on these lands; they have retained abilities reminiscent of their power over life, including that of absorbing the life energy of other creatures. There are various types: aquatic, ancient, similar to carnivorous plants or even affected by the Plague.
The Baracúdens are amphibious humanoids with fish-like features, proud and powerful; they live in underwater cities and try to protect their people and other inhabitants of the archipelago from threats that come from the depths. Their variants derive mainly from how close or far from the mainland they live, consequently changing some physical characteristics. Many of the feats they can acquire make them dangerous hunters at ease in the waves.
The Coquíans are small humanoids with some traits in common with frogs; the variants and their abilities are closely related to these animals. They often act as guides for the spirits of the dead, for whom they create fetishes called Zemi.
The Hurákans are the most recent inhabitants of the archipelago; they are elementals born from the divinities of the oceans and the storms, of which they retain their characteristics and from which their specific feats arise.
The Iguacas are proud anthropomorphic tropical birds, naturally gifted in military strategies and magical studies. Their plumage distinguish some of their characteristics and they have wings which, once developed, allow them to fly.
The Taínems are the native humans of the archipelago, as well as the most widespread population; they know how to adapt very well to where they live, thus developing useful skills.
The Wolákans are elemental beings of earth and fire, that embody the destructive power of volcanoes and the building skills of craftsmen; these aspects influence their nature.
Review of New Character Options for Boricubos: The Lost Isles
And the inhabitants of the archipelago are some of the new options for the characters; in Boricubos: The Lost Isles there are in fact 7 new Ancestries, each with a huge variety of specific Heritages and Ancestry Feats; moreover they are also characterized with description, history, society, relations with other peoples, habits, names, narrative cues, faith and typical alignment.
There are also new options and new paths for the Classes available on the official PF2e manuals; and I am referring both to those of the basic manual, that of the Player’s Guide, and those contained in Secrets of Magic. An example of the quality of these additions is the new material for the Barbarian; this character derives his strength from a certain type of marine horror and thanks to them develops abilities related to underwater combat. They are all very themed; I recommend trying them, but they don’t necessarily replace the basic manual options.
There is also a totally new Class: the Shaman. She is a very particular trained spellcaster, expert dealing with spirits, whether natural or dead. Her specializations are intriguing (Animism, Conduit and Medium), but what I appreciated most is the possibility to choose between two different but equally themed magical traditions: Occult and Primal; along with Witch, Sorcerer and Summoner, she is part of that wonderful group of classes that adapt their powers according to the source. The concept around which the Class revolves is Trance; the character momentarily loses the ability to cast her spells in order to use those provided by the spirits associated with her.
Finally we find new themed Archetypes, usable (prerequisites permitting) by any character.
Review of the New GM Tools for Boricubos: The Lost Isles
The narrators can also find a lot of useful material in this manual. First of all, many new spells for all four traditions are added, as well as some Focus spells. Protective Breeze, Aspect of the Frog, Ancestral Wrath and many others: we always remain very close to the tropical setting.
The new additions to the equipment are very rich and, in my opinion, incredibly useful for recreating the right atmosphere. Who would sell plate armor for gold coins on a tropical island? For this reason the currency changes: here we are talking about Red Shells. Spending them will give you access to original weapons and armor that cover the mechanical needs to better appreciate the PF2e system, while contextualizing the contents to the Boricubos archipelago. We therefore find palm wood armors, hardened bone armors, coral shields and much more. Magic items (Consumables, Weapons, Armor, Held Items, Worn Items, Staves and Runes) are more classic, but no less interesting; now all my characters want a magical boggard mask with an extendable tongue!
The manual then proposes a bestiary and a gallery of important NPCs that can be used in any adventure in the archipelago. The creatures are not many (we are talking about thirty in general) but all of them add something precious to the setting.
I also appreciated a some other details that denote the passion put into this work; in fact, there is a list of place names that can be used to stay on topic with the rest of the material and an appendix that explains how to pronounce the words that derive from the language of origin of this folklore. We are not talking about mechanics, but they are elements that can greatly favor immersion.
Ready to Set Sail for Adventure?
Boricubos: The Lost Isles also offers three ready-made introductory adventures and I’m going to review them too. Each adventure occupies between 6 and 8 pages and this shows how they are designed to be played in a few sessions; after all, their main purpose is to present the setting and the new material, and they do it in an excellent way. I also appreciated that they are designed for different levels; they are designed for level 4, 3 and 16 characters respectively. Here are the topics covered in each of them, obviously always avoiding spoilers:
- Prophet of Perdition: the characters must escort refugees that live on a small and dangerous island to the safety; before leaving, however, one of them goes mad and risks endangering everyone.
- Six Days Til Sacrifice: the characters must rescue some inhabitants kidnapped by religious fanatics and in doing so they will realize that in some areas people are starting to disappear.
- Ancient Bones: the characters must first find and then secure the skeleton of an ancient dragon that is attracting the attention of far too many people, generating a climate of tension in the archipelago.
Review of the Boricubos: The Lost Isles Aesthetic
This is certainly the less valuable aspect of Boricubos: The Lost Isles and in this section of my review I will try to shed some light on it.
Let’s start with the positive aspects: the illustrations are well done and perfectly express the atmosphere that this setting wants to recreate. Whether they are creatures, places, maps, items or whatever, I have always found them interesting, an added value to the text.
Now let’s move on to the less pleasant aspects. This manual has more than 200 pages full of contents, but unfortunately the readability and layout are not always pleasant. The work differs from the style of the official PF2e manuals and this is a flaw for me. The font of the text is too large, that of the titles in certain situations is not very legible. Moreover the background color has shades that can be annoying after reading a lot of pages. There are some text boxes, but they are too faded and sometimes the text inside them is not centered, overlapping with the edges; the index also suffers from a similar problem, but personally I believe that the problem is, as mentioned above, the font chosen for the titles. I would also have found it more convenient to number the chapters, so that I could explore them more easily.
These flaws do not compromise the quality of the content, but it is a real shame to see them. A style more similar to the official manuals of PF2e (or even just to other works by Legendary Games) would have better embellished the passion that reigns in each content. A hard cover would have also been a valuable addition to such a manual; I would pay a higher price, as long as these aspects were fixed.
Conclusions of the Boricubos: The Lost Isles Review
Excluding what I said in the last paragraph of this review, Boricubos: The Lost Isles is a great product, introducing a lot of great new material for PF2e. Although it can be inserted in any context (even in the official Golarion setting), I believe that the best way to enjoy this content is to play it without mixing it with other influences. In this way you can breathe deeply an incredibly fascinating and far too little exploited folklore.
At the base of these feelings, there is a huge passion transmitted by the author. From each page it is clear how much his intent is to share something intimate and wonderful with anyone who reads the manual; I am delighted to be able to say that he has fully succeeded in this intent. You will not find yourself in front of a list of notions and mechanics, but in an archipelago alive and full of charm. And a part from this romantic side, you will also find a deep knowledge and masterful use of the PF2e game system.
For these reasons I definitely recommend Boricubos: The Lost Isles to anyone who wants to take advantage of the PF2e system to experience tropical adventures different from the classic fantasy style, having all the precious material you need in a single manual.
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