NPCs on the March!

Monday, October 1, 2012

We're still a couple of months out from the release of Pathfinder RPG: NPC Codex, but all of the awesome art in that book refuses to be contained! Check out a sampling of 10 fantastically deadly characters by 10 fantastically talented artists. Also, be sure to watch this space in the coming weeks for in-depth previews of Pathfinder RPG: NPC Codex—releasing this December.

F. Wesley Schneider
Editor-in-Chief

More Paizo Blog.
Tags: Alex Tooth Branko Bistrovic Chris Seaman Damien Mammoliti Jason Rainville Jorge Maese Lydia Schuchmann Mauricio Herrera Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Roberto Pitturru Scott Purdy
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Dark Archive

Great art. Also nice to see a bit of variaty in the races (including a few none core ones will any of them be Catfolk?)


Amazing art! There are such good artist for Pathfinder!

-Kcinlive

Grand Lodge

4 people marked this as a favorite.

At first I saw the one on the bottom row with the name Damien Mammoliti above it and thought it was an appropriate name for the NPC. Then I saw the green snake-looking guy named Scott and realized those were the artist names. :P


Can't get enough Jason Rainville!

Contributor

All the characters in the NPC Codex are races from the Core Rulebook. The weird-looking elf in the picture is either a cold-themed elf or a white draconic bloodline sorcerer or dragon disciple.

Silver Crusade

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Is this the artwork that will appear on NPC Codex Box prawns?

Paizo Employee Chief Creative Officer, Publisher

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Well, pawns, yes.

Plus hundreds of other illustrations.


godsDMit wrote:
At first I saw the one on the bottom row with the name Damien Mammoliti above it and thought it was an appropriate name for the NPC. Then I saw the green snake-looking guy named Scott and realized those were the artist names. :P

Me too, Branko Bistovic and Jorge Maese sound exotic enough to my Anglo-Saxon ears. Then I saw Lydia and a female Scott and the penny dropped :D

Contributor

8 people marked this as a favorite.

Can we do prawns? Or other crustaceans!? Printing on carapaces might be a tad bit pricey, but I'm sure Jeff has a line on something like that.

Prawnfinder Adventure Paths: Coming 2013!

Silver Crusade

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Prawn iconics would be soooo coool.


I'm sorry but some of those females have exposed skin..what is this?, more cheesecake art from Paizo?

Spoiler:
JOKE!!!!


and the evil looking woman got a german (sounding) name of course.

No seriously, I like it all, carry on.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber
Richard Leonhart wrote:

and the evil looking woman got a german (sounding) name of course.

No seriously, I like it all, carry on.

Those are the Artist's names...

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

I thought Chris Seaman did the best job of those but nice art all around.

Dark Archive

Yea a dwarf named Roberto! though the bard girl shouldn't be called Jason :P


I like the ghillie suit guy the best.


The funny (and awesome thing) about pathfinder art is that while most art is made by different artist it feels like most are made by the same artist, if you would say one artist made all of those I would believe it, they all have the same awesome draw style! There is only 1 artist in paizo who uses a very gothic/cartoony different style, don't know his name.


ulgulanoth wrote:
Yea a dwarf named Roberto! though the bard girl shouldn't be called Jason :P

The bard named Jason is what finally clued me in to the fact they were artist names. And it was the second time I'd looked at the artwork.


So when is the NPC miniatures set going to be released?!


Erik Mona wrote:

Well, pawns, yes.

Plus hundreds of other illustrations.

Erik, will each NPC in the Codex have specific artwork?


3 people marked this as a favorite.

Needs more Carolina Eade. In fact most paizo books need more of Carolina Eade.

Silver Crusade

Oh awesome. :)

More to say about these guys, but for now: Hey it's the bard lady from the cover!

Having a ton of new character art for GMs and players to use is a big part of why I'm eager to get this book. 4th on the top row would be perfect for female Shoanti half-orcs for example. And 1st on the bottom row...I need to let a friend know about that one. Relevant to his characters.

Contributor

MJinthePitt wrote:
The bard named Jason is what finally clued me in to the fact they were artist names. And it was the second time I'd looked at the artwork.

Hey now, dudes named Jason can be adventurers, too, ya know. :)

Silver Crusade

Sean K Reynolds wrote:
MJinthePitt wrote:
The bard named Jason is what finally clued me in to the fact they were artist names. And it was the second time I'd looked at the artwork.
Hey now, dudes named Jason can be adventurers, too, ya know. :)

Yeah but most of us aren't as pretty as the example in the post. And most of us also have a complete pair of shoes unlike the other guy.

I don't want to be romantically involved with Tyler Perry in drag either. :([/stretchingthisreferencetothebreakingpoint]

I couldn't figure out how to work a Heavy Rain reference into this, and Friday the 13th jokes would just be lazy


The first words in my brain upon spotting the bottom-right (created by Mauricio Herrera) were:

"I am Leaf-Man, Master of Shrubbery!"

...Catch Phrase,

-Chris

Dark Archive

Sean K Reynolds wrote:
MJinthePitt wrote:
The bard named Jason is what finally clued me in to the fact they were artist names. And it was the second time I'd looked at the artwork.
Hey now, dudes named Jason can be adventurers, too, ya know. :)

while I won't argue that that is the case, I will argue that people with boobs tend to be female and thus tend not to be called Jason...


I thought the name on the top right was "Alex Toth" for a second. No such luck.


gotta love the last character lol
the tree man comth


Wooo! I can hardly wait for this to be released.
It's going to be like Christmas in January! :D


2 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Saw it on DeviantArt first. Kind of makes this blog entry kinda lackluster.


Will we see Brett's Elicia Stormraven in this Codex?

RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 16

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought those were the NPCs' names at first. I was sitting there thinking I wasn't that impressed until I realized they were the artists' names. Duh.


Nice art!
Next to the Core Book and the Bestiaries this book is probably the most useful book a GM can get. I'll bet even some players will get it too.

Paizo Employee Director of Game Design

3 people marked this as a favorite.
Sean K Reynolds wrote:
MJinthePitt wrote:
The bard named Jason is what finally clued me in to the fact they were artist names. And it was the second time I'd looked at the artwork.
Hey now, dudes named Jason can be adventurers, too, ya know. :)

Woo HOO!

I can be an adventurer!

Jason

(Now where are my Argon... err.. Bulmanaughts!)


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Jason Bulmahn wrote:
Sean K Reynolds wrote:
MJinthePitt wrote:
The bard named Jason is what finally clued me in to the fact they were artist names. And it was the second time I'd looked at the artwork.
Hey now, dudes named Jason can be adventurers, too, ya know. :)

Woo HOO!

I can be an adventurer!

Jason

(Now where are my Argon... err.. Bulmanaughts!)

Well, you did it... you named them :D

Silver Crusade

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Top Row

1st: Good for "troubled mage" characters and other shady sorts of casters. The glowing effect is really well done there.

2nd: I'm really curious about what she turns out to be, besides looking really cool. Really love that more exotic art is being made for whatever class+option she turns out to be. Bloodlines alone open up so many possibilities for aesthetics that it seems a waste to just go vanilla with all of their art, so its great to see some stranger appearances suppported.

3rd: Tagged as a Kuthonite even before seeing the holy symbols. First reaction: Kinda fetishy attractive? Realization: Kuthonite, look for the horrifying details. 2nd reaction: OH GOD HER STOMACH. 2nd Realization: That's just a chain hanging in front of her, not in her torso. 3rd Reaction: Wow, this is actually the least outwardly squicky Kukthonite artwork ye... 3rd Realization: Oh ow, those ribs...that's just painf- 4th Realization: Looks more closely at her forehead. Final Conclusion: wincy-shudders

4th: Still liking this as an option for Shoanti half-orcs.

5th:

Wonder what he is

Maybe a shadowdancer?

He's got a great look

Bottom Row:

1st: Dorf

2nd: If not for the insidious looking glint in his eye and the skull, I'd totally be using this guy for a wizard PC. The design on that hem is really cool.

3rd: WEAR ALL THE THINGS. I think this guy has actually outdone at least two iconics combined. Irresine by the look of him... Curious about that crystal ball. I'd have said he was a cavalier if not for the book being core classes only. Must be a fighter of some type.

4th: Really liked this bard's design on the cover, and it holds up here too. Wondering which art came first now.

5th: It's certainly practical by usual fantasy standards. I feel like I should be recognizing that armor.

You just know someone somewhere is going to use that for their ranger and constantly quote "Do not bring your evil here" over and over and over...


Mikaze wrote:


5th: It's certainly practical by usual fantasy standards. I feel like I should be recognizing that armor.

He must have a rather small penis, though.


Will the NPC art be on a seperate page to the stats, or maybe as a full page illustration? So the players will only see the art but not the stats associated with the NPC!

As a DM aid and a player aid I'd like to have the art and stats seperate, my crafty players would look at the stats before the artwork even registered.

Paizo Employee Director of Game Development

bodrin wrote:
Will the NPC art be on a seperate page to the stats, or maybe as a full page illustration? So the players will only see the art but not the stats associated with the NPC!

This book has a layout very much like one of our Bestiaries where the body shot is on the same page as the text.

Dark Archive

Jason Bulmahn wrote:
(Now where are my Argon... err.. Bulmanaughts!)

So you'd name your ship the Bulmahn?

Contributor

bodrin wrote:

Will the NPC art be on a seperate page to the stats, or maybe as a full page illustration? So the players will only see the art but not the stats associated with the NPC!

As a DM aid and a player aid I'd like to have the art and stats seperate, my crafty players would look at the stats before the artwork even registered.

Dude, you can screw with them so bad! You're getting hundreds of statblocks and hundreds of pieces of art. Show them a page with cool picture A and hardcore stats A, but then use the stats for a similar character on page X. "Hold on, there wasn't anything about baleful polymorph in his sta-... oops." :P

Contributor

Mikaze wrote:
4th: Really liked this bard's design on the cover, and it holds up here too. Wondering which art came first now.

Wayne's cover art came first, and we gave that to the other artists working on the individual character illos.


Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path, Lost Omens Subscriber
F. Wesley Schneider wrote:
bodrin wrote:

Will the NPC art be on a seperate page to the stats, or maybe as a full page illustration? So the players will only see the art but not the stats associated with the NPC!

As a DM aid and a player aid I'd like to have the art and stats seperate, my crafty players would look at the stats before the artwork even registered.

Dude, you can screw with them so bad! You're getting hundreds of statblocks and hundreds of pieces of art. Show them a page with cool picture A and hardcore stats A, but then use the stats for a similar character on page X. "Hold on, there wasn't anything about baleful polymorph in his sta-... oops." :P

Although if you buy the PDF you can extract the pictures and print them separately as portraits. I've done that for important NPCs before.


deinol wrote:
F. Wesley Schneider wrote:
bodrin wrote:

Will the NPC art be on a seperate page to the stats, or maybe as a full page illustration? So the players will only see the art but not the stats associated with the NPC!

As a DM aid and a player aid I'd like to have the art and stats seperate, my crafty players would look at the stats before the artwork even registered.

Dude, you can screw with them so bad! You're getting hundreds of statblocks and hundreds of pieces of art. Show them a page with cool picture A and hardcore stats A, but then use the stats for a similar character on page X. "Hold on, there wasn't anything about baleful polymorph in his sta-... oops." :P
Although if you buy the PDF you can extract the pictures and print them separately as portraits. I've done that for important NPCs before.

Cash flow being a manageable problem I'd like to get both but I support my FLGS and purchase the dead tree version, sadly the PDF isn't offered with the sale at brick and mortar establishments.:(

Maybe Paizo could offer the free PDF scheme for the hardcopy purchases of customers from FLGS!
Hint:)


ulgulanoth wrote:
while I won't argue that that is the case, I will argue that people with boobs tend to be female and thus tend not to be called Jason...

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000492/


bodrin wrote:
deinol wrote:
F. Wesley Schneider wrote:
bodrin wrote:

Will the NPC art be on a seperate page to the stats, or maybe as a full page illustration? So the players will only see the art but not the stats associated with the NPC!

As a DM aid and a player aid I'd like to have the art and stats seperate, my crafty players would look at the stats before the artwork even registered.

Dude, you can screw with them so bad! You're getting hundreds of statblocks and hundreds of pieces of art. Show them a page with cool picture A and hardcore stats A, but then use the stats for a similar character on page X. "Hold on, there wasn't anything about baleful polymorph in his sta-... oops." :P
Although if you buy the PDF you can extract the pictures and print them separately as portraits. I've done that for important NPCs before.

Cash flow being a manageable problem I'd like to get both but I support my FLGS and purchase the dead tree version, sadly the PDF isn't offered with the sale at brick and mortar establishments.:(

Maybe Paizo could offer the free PDF scheme for the hardcopy purchases of customers from FLGS!
Hint:)

They don't even do that with straight up purchases from their own website. You have to subscribe to get the bonus.


Sniggevert wrote:
bodrin wrote:

Snip out lots of stuff but include the final bit that's pertinent...

Cash flow being a manageable problem I'd like to get both but I support my FLGS and purchase the dead tree version, sadly the PDF isn't offered with the sale at brick and mortar establishments.:(

Maybe Paizo could offer the free PDF scheme for the hardcopy purchases of customers from FLGS!
Hint:)

They don't even do that with straight up purchases from their own website. You have to subscribe to get the bonus.

I know :( that's why I said manageable cash flow and "Hint" at the end!;)


Very nice!


Jason Bulmahn wrote:
Sean K Reynolds wrote:
MJinthePitt wrote:
The bard named Jason is what finally clued me in to the fact they were artist names. And it was the second time I'd looked at the artwork.
Hey now, dudes named Jason can be adventurers, too, ya know. :)

Woo HOO!

I can be an adventurer!

Jason

(Now where are my Argon... err.. Bulmanaughts!)

Sorry, but Pathfinder doesn't support red dragon PCs. Maybe something can be done after the playtest is released.

Yawar


Did someone already say "awesome"?
Well, they didn't say it loud enough.

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