Fair warning: I called dibs on the nymph and the succubus. I apologize in advance for any blindness my representations of these creatures might incur.

If your depiction of the nymph makes people go blind, something went horribly right.

No... just a few posts above yours, I said: "We've moved up the retail release date to October 21." Which is also the date that the PDF will become available.

Oh, and also—you heard it here first—like the Core Rulebook, the Bestiary PDF will be $9.99. (*After* the Bestiary, though, PDF pricing on the Pathfinder RPG line will return to our usual discount of 30% off the print price.)

Nice! Thanks for the reply, I'll be purchasing the pdf as well. :)

Oh, and also - you heard it here first - like the Core Rulebook, the Bestiary PDF will be $9.99. (*After* the Bestiary, though, PDF pricing on the Pathfinder RPG line will return to our usual discount of 30% off the print price.)

Pretty frickin' cool!!

AJC

My question is, will this be worth buying if I already have the 3.5 Monster Manual?

I mean, I can see how having the CMB/CMD's of creatures will be useful, but it's not worth $40 to me if I can just continue to use the MM.

My question, then, is how many monsters are new? How many are updates to old ones? What is it about this book that would make my broke self want to spend $40 on this, as opposed to continuing to use the old monster books?

Thanks in advance.

My question is, will this be worth buying if I already have the 3.5 Monster Manual?

I mean, I can see how having the CMB/CMD's of creatures will be useful, but it's not worth $40 to me if I can just continue to use the MM.

My question, then, is how many monsters are new? How many are updates to old ones? What is it about this book that would make my broke self want to spend $40 on this, as opposed to continuing to use the old monster books?

Thanks in advance.

I don't know how many new monsters there are, though I know there are several. One really really big thing though, the thing that got me genuinely looking forward to it, is that they are revamping all the old monsters to make the CR system actually matter.

Toning down overpowered monsters, buffing up underpowered ones, making them match the listed CR in a way that's, wait for it, actually meaningful.

Personally I'm stoked.

that hobo wrote:

My question is, will this be worth buying if I already have the 3.5 Monster Manual?

I mean, I can see how having the CMB/CMD's of creatures will be useful, but it's not worth $40 to me if I can just continue to use the MM.

My question, then, is how many monsters are new? How many are updates to old ones? What is it about this book that would make my broke self want to spend $40 on this, as opposed to continuing to use the old monster books?

Thanks in advance.

I don't know how many new monsters there are, though I know there are several. One really really big thing though, the thing that got me genuinely looking forward to it, is that they are revamping all the old monsters to make the CR system actually matter.

Toning down overpowered monsters, buffing up underpowered ones, making them match the listed CR in a way that's, wait for it, actually meaningful.

Personally I'm stoked.

And if you're not sure if you should buy the book, then maybe you should buy the PDF for $9.99 instead to supplement your 3.5 MM.

And if you're not sure if you should buy the book, then maybe you should buy the PDF for $9.99 instead to supplement your 3.5 MM.

Last thing I heard, there won't be a Bestiary PDF for 10 bucks.

Lanx wrote:

And if you're not sure if you should buy the book, then maybe you should buy the PDF for $9.99 instead to supplement your 3.5 MM.

Last thing I heard, there won't be a Bestiary PDF for 10 bucks.

A few posts back Vic states that the Bestiary PDF will be $9.99

KaeYoss, Vic's post is 17 above yours where he states the PDF will be $9.99. However, he does say that this will be the last time that happens in the Core line.

Just my 2 cp.

My question is, will this be worth buying if I already have the 3.5 Monster Manual?

I mean, I can see how having the CMB/CMD's of creatures will be useful, but it's not worth $40 to me if I can just continue to use the MM.

My question, then, is how many monsters are new? How many are updates to old ones? What is it about this book that would make my broke self want to spend $40 on this, as opposed to continuing to use the old monster books?

Thanks in advance.

You might want to check out the free Bestiary Preview and Bestiary Preview II. They'll give you an idea of both some of the new content you can find in the book, like crag linnorms and tengu, how older content has been updated, like the tiefling (which now balances better with the core races), revisions to creature types and subtypes, and variants of old classics like blood skeletons and fast zombies.

You might want to check out the free Bestiary Preview and Bestiary Preview II. They'll give you an idea of both some of the new content you can find in the book, like crag linnorms and tengu, how older content has been updated, like the tiefling (which now balances better with the core races), revisions to creature types and subtypes, and variants of old classics like blood skeletons and fast zombies.

The new method of advancing creatures with the "advanced" template is useful, too...as well as the way they've defined the celestial and fiendish overlays. To me, the information on designing your own monsters and the index of creatures by type, terrain, and CR are also very helpful. Not that I should happen to have a reason to be using those features at this exact moment... ;-)

All in all, the book is more solidly put together than the old Monster Manual. It has better production values. Updated content to Pathfinder RPG. And some really great new pieces of art. I fully expect it to replace the MM at my gaming table, except for the very rare occasion I need one of the beasties that didn't make Paizo's Bestiary. Of course, they're already planning on giving us many more of those in the Bestiary II down the road. So, I'm definitely finding myself moving away from the old 3.5 books and migrating to PFRPG in its entirety.

My two-cents,
--Neil

You might want to check out the free Bestiary Preview and Bestiary Preview II. They'll give you an idea of both some of the new content you can find in the book, like crag linnorms and tengu, how older content has been updated, like the tiefling (which now balances better with the core races), revisions to creature types and subtypes, and variants of old classics like blood skeletons and fast zombies.

You should also check out the free PDF of the Bonus Bestiary. It contains not only write ups for several monsters that did not make the cut in the regular Bestiary, but it also contains a complete listing of all the monsters covered in the big Bestiary book.

redcelt32 wrote:

Quick question for Vic or whoever else from Paizo may see it...since the Bestiary has no ship date officially yet, it does not show up in my subscriptions as a product with a timeline yet. Since I set them up to "ship monthly" and there is no Oct AP (and therefore my next monthly shipment reads Nov), does that mean the bestiary will become my October shipment, or roll over to Nov? I only ask here because I think its a unique situation with no Oct AP.

If you have your shipments set up to ship with your Adventure Path shipment, then yes; your Bestiary won't ship until Pathfinder AP volume #27 ships sometime in early November.

Actually James, I think you are wrong! :)

If you have your subscriptions set to monthly ship and there is no AP until November, then your October shipment will just be the Bestiary and it will go out next week.

-Lisa

KaeYoss, Vic's post is 17 above yours where he states the PDF will be $9.99. However, he does say that this will be the last time that happens in the Core line.

Just my 2 cp.

Course I see this right after I post heh. Awesome though. Go Paizo! I mean all this stuff online... it's brilliant! Save the trees!

James Jacobs wrote:

redcelt32 wrote:

Quick question for Vic or whoever else from Paizo may see it...since the Bestiary has no ship date officially yet, it does not show up in my subscriptions as a product with a timeline yet. Since I set them up to "ship monthly" and there is no Oct AP (and therefore my next monthly shipment reads Nov), does that mean the bestiary will become my October shipment, or roll over to Nov? I only ask here because I think its a unique situation with no Oct AP.

If you have your shipments set up to ship with your Adventure Path shipment, then yes; your Bestiary won't ship until Pathfinder AP volume #27 ships sometime in early November.

Actually James, I think you are wrong! :)

If you have your subscriptions set to monthly ship and there is no AP until November, then your October shipment will just be the Bestiary and it will go out next week.

-Lisa

Heh... this is why I should try to not answer questions about the store or shipping, of course! :-) I don't understand what sort of magic and mystical processes go on in the rest of the building, really...

But ask me questions about what cyclopes eat or how boggards entertain themselves when they're bored or what the difference is between an en-dash and an em-dash and I can hook you up for sure! :-)

So when will it actually ship out?

Oh, and also—you heard it here first—like the Core Rulebook, the Bestiary PDF will be $9.99. (*After* the Bestiary, though, PDF pricing on the Pathfinder RPG line will return to our usual discount of 30% off the print price.)

w00t!!!

So when will it actually ship out?

The shipping for subscribers will begin Tuesday.

How DO boggards entertain themselves?

But ask me questions about what cyclopes eat or how boggards entertain themselves when they're bored or what the difference is between an en-dash and an em-dash and I can hook you up for sure! :-)

What do cyclopes eat? How do bored boggards busy their bodies? And what ARE en and em dash(es? ai? e?)

Hook me up!

Cyclopes eat meat pretty much exclusively; the more civilized ones raise livestock (they particularly like the taste of sheep and goat). Alas, there's not many civilized ones left, and those who ARE left generally prefer the taste of HUMAN FLESH. mmmmmm

Boggards generally entertain themselves with bickering and fighting and tormenting prisoners. They DO have a lot of weird games, though... a favorite one is called "Lick Bug" in which case a bunch of boggards catch a dozen identical-looking cat-sized dragonflies. The Lick Boss secretly coats one dragonfly with a clear layer of scorchbulb (a potent and very spicy type of swampland pepper); this layer of scorchbulb resin doesn't hurt the dragonfly at all. The dozen dragonflies are released in a closed area like a cave or shack, and then a bunch of boggards take turns lashing their sticky tongues at dragonflies and eating them. The first boggard to get the painfully spicy scorchbulb-flavored dragonfly stuck on his tongue and in his mouth loses the game and spends hours in searing pain while his companions laugh at him.

An en-dash is a dash that's longer than a hyphen; it's used most commonly as a minus sign or to separate a range of numbers. It's called an "en dash" because it's about as wide as the letter N. An em-dash is used to set off a parenthetical thought in a sentence similarly to how a semi-colon is used. An em-dash is about as wide as the letter M.

Cyclopes eat meat pretty much exclusively; the more civilized ones raise livestock (they particularly like the taste of sheep and goat). Alas, there's not many civilized ones left, and those who ARE left generally prefer the taste of HUMAN FLESH. mmmmmm

Boggards generally entertain themselves with bickering and fighting and tormenting prisoners. They DO have a lot of weird games, though... a favorite one is called "Lick Bug" in which case a bunch of boggards catch a dozen identical-looking cat-sized dragonflies. The Lick Boss secretly coats one dragonfly with a clear layer of scorchbulb (a potent and very spicy type of swampland pepper); this layer of scorchbulb resin doesn't hurt the dragonfly at all. The dozen dragonflies are released in a closed area like a cave or shack, and then a bunch of boggards take turns lashing their sticky tongues at dragonflies and eating them. The first boggard to get the painfully spicy scorchbulb-flavored dragonfly stuck on his tongue and in his mouth loses the game and spends hours in searing pain while his companions laugh at him.

An en-dash is a dash that's longer than a hyphen; it's used most commonly as a minus sign or to separate a range of numbers. It's called an "en dash" because it's about as wide as the letter N. An em-dash is used to set off a parenthetical thought in a sentence similarly to how a semi-colon is used. An em-dash is about as wide as the letter M.

Have you ever considered a career as a modern major general?

Have you ever considered a career as a modern major general?

Officially a lol comment.

Pirates of Penzance for cool.

Anyhow, thanks all for your input.

Cyclopes eat meat pretty much exclusively; the more civilized ones raise livestock (they particularly like the taste of sheep and goat). Alas, there's not many civilized ones left, and those who ARE left generally prefer the taste of HUMAN FLESH. mmmmmm

Boggards generally entertain themselves with bickering and fighting and tormenting prisoners. They DO have a lot of weird games, though... a favorite one is called "Lick Bug" in which case a bunch of boggards catch a dozen identical-looking cat-sized dragonflies. The Lick Boss secretly coats one dragonfly with a clear layer of scorchbulb (a potent and very spicy type of swampland pepper); this layer of scorchbulb resin doesn't hurt the dragonfly at all. The dozen dragonflies are released in a closed area like a cave or shack, and then a bunch of boggards take turns lashing their sticky tongues at dragonflies and eating them. The first boggard to get the painfully spicy scorchbulb-flavored dragonfly stuck on his tongue and in his mouth loses the game and spends hours in searing pain while his companions laugh at him.

An en-dash is a dash that's longer than a hyphen; it's used most commonly as a minus sign or to separate a range of numbers. It's called an "en dash" because it's about as wide as the letter N. An em-dash is used to set off a parenthetical thought in a sentence similarly to how a semi-colon is used. An em-dash is about as wide as the letter M.

Awesome! Memo to self! Provoke James Jacobs more often!

this layer of scorchbulb resin doesn't hurt the dragonfly at all.

Awww, that's so nice, animal rights and ecosystem friendly and all :-)

and then a bunch of boggards take turns lashing their sticky tongues at dragonflies and eating them.

Oh, wait ... !

If you have your subscriptions set to monthly ship and there is no AP until November, then your October shipment will just be the Bestiary and it will go out next week.

-Lisa

What is the estimated shipping from your warehouse date of the November AP?

Would it be wise to change subscriptions to ship Monthly now, and change them back to ship with Adventure Paths after the Bestiary has left the warehouse, to ensure the Bestiary arrives as soon as possible, and then resume normal shipping with Adventure Paths thereafter?

I probably wouldn't do this with any other product but the Bestiary as it's so highly anticipated (oh, and the Advanced Player's Guide next year ;-)

Boggards generally entertain themselves with bickering and fighting and tormenting prisoners. They DO have a lot of weird games, though... a favorite one is called "Lick Bug" in which case a bunch of boggards catch a dozen identical-looking cat-sized dragonflies. The Lick Boss secretly coats one dragonfly with a clear layer of scorchbulb (a potent and very spicy type of swampland pepper); this layer of scorchbulb resin doesn't hurt the dragonfly at all. The dozen dragonflies are released in a closed area like a cave or shack, and then a bunch of boggards take turns lashing their sticky tongues at dragonflies and eating them. The first boggard to get the painfully spicy scorchbulb-flavored dragonfly stuck on his tongue and in his mouth loses the game and spends hours in searing pain while his companions laugh at him.

Paizo keeps doing things that accidentally fit in really well with my Pathfinder canon. In my Rise of the Runelords game, one of the PCs was a Shoanti whose tribe had been relocated by the Cheliaxian colonists a hundred years ago to a tiny island. All they had on the island were spicy mud peppers and hungry boggards, and so the character was the last of his family, since the rest had been killed by boggards over the years. He still carried mud peppers with him where'er he went, and claimed that it was a Shoanti initiation ritual to cut them in half and rub them on the initiate's eyes. One should note that he only claimed this to people he didn't like. But then again, he didn't like much of anybody.

Off Topic:

I'm pretty sure there's a variation of the game that can be played between just two boggards where the dragonfly is tethered to a tree or pole with a 15 ft. length of twine, but the dragonfly isn't peppered and the first boggard to snag the critter and draw it in wins. (And gets a tasty meal in the process.)

Off Topic:

** spoiler omitted **

It was in website feedback. Something about how awesome Gary was? Maybe blog related? I don't remember.

Oh, and also—you heard it here first—like the Core Rulebook, the Bestiary PDF will be $9.99. (*After* the Bestiary, though, PDF pricing on the Pathfinder RPG line will return to our usual discount of 30% off the print price.)

Thanks - this is absolutely great. This way I will buy a PDF and can be more relaxed about shipment of the book. I'm not yet a fan to get books directly (shipping costs from US to UK and hassles and additional costs with other companies due to customs so far let me avoid buying anything physical from the US whenever I can avoid it).

I hope the $9.99 for PDF will work for Paizo. I tried my part in buying 2 of these - one for myself ahead of the book which I got later and one for an unemployed gamer in my group (buying a book would be a little bit much - but a PDF I can afford to give away).

Thod

Oh, and also—you heard it here first—like the Core Rulebook, the Bestiary PDF will be $9.99. (*After* the Bestiary, though, PDF pricing on the Pathfinder RPG line will return to our usual discount of 30% off the print price.)

[Montgomery Burns] "Excellent!" [/Montgomery Burns]

Boggards generally entertain themselves with bickering and fighting and tormenting prisoners. They DO have a lot of weird games, though... a favorite one is called "Lick Bug" in which case a bunch of boggards catch a dozen identical-looking cat-sized dragonflies. The Lick Boss secretly coats one dragonfly with a clear layer of scorchbulb (a potent and very spicy type of swampland pepper); this layer of scorchbulb resin doesn't hurt the dragonfly at all. The dozen dragonflies are released in a closed area like a cave or shack, and then a bunch of boggards take turns lashing their sticky tongues at dragonflies and eating them. The first boggard to get the painfully spicy scorchbulb-flavored dragonfly stuck on his tongue and in his mouth loses the game and spends hours in searing pain while his companions laugh at him.

You realize I'm TOTALLY snagging this for my current assignment! :-D

--Neil

James Jacobs wrote:

this layer of scorchbulb resin doesn't hurt the dragonfly at all.

Awww, that's so nice, animal rights and ecosystem friendly and all :-)

James Jacobs wrote:

and then a bunch of boggards take turns lashing their sticky tongues at dragonflies and eating them.

Oh, wait ... !

Now hold on; the boggards are fully cognizant of the risks. They have chosen to possibly end up in agony; therefore, it is not actually cruelty. If someone is stupid enough to severely injure themselves through their own actions, it's not the Lickboss's fault

Lisa Stevens wrote:

If you have your subscriptions set to monthly ship and there is no AP until November, then your October shipment will just be the Bestiary and it will go out next week.

-Lisa

What is the estimated shipping from your warehouse date of the November AP?

Would it be wise to change subscriptions to ship Monthly now, and change them back to ship with Adventure Paths after the Bestiary has left the warehouse, to ensure the Bestiary arrives as soon as possible, and then resume normal shipping with Adventure Paths thereafter?

I probably wouldn't do this with any other product but the Bestiary as it's so highly anticipated (oh, and the Advanced Player's Guide next year ;-)

We are expecting Pathfinder #27 to arrive somewhere around the first week of November. Give or take a week. :)

-Lisa

Today, right? It's coming out today? Right? Please say today!!!

:::does the excited dance:::

;)

Today, right? It's coming out today? Right? Please say today!!!

:::does the excited dance:::

;)

More like in 10 days.

Jason Sonia wrote:

Today, right? It's coming out today? Right? Please say today!!!

:::does the excited dance:::

;)

More like in 10 days.

As Jason is a subscriber, and they get the PDF when their package starts shipping, and Vic said they would begin shipping these today and tomorrow, there is a good possibility that he may get access to it today (if he has hold for nothing or hold for monthly shipment as his preferred shipping option).

HUMAN FLESH. mmmmmm

An acquired taste at best.

Unless it's babies, of course.

Oh, and the 10-bucks-bestiary thing is very classy!

If it is mailing today about what time should we expect notification?

...I'm trying to be patient... really... :)

If it is mailing today about what time should we expect notification?

...I'm trying to be patient... really... :)

Should we at least expect the pdf sometime today?

I have a ton of creatures to start converting over, namely the Beholder, Carrion crawler, Mind Flayer, etc.......just to make the transition official and complete.

Anyone have the PDF yet?

I don't, it is my understanding that subscribers get access to the PDF after their hard copy has shipped. Which is why I curious about the shipment of the books.

I don't, it is my understanding that subscribers get access to the PDF after their hard copy has shipped. Which is why I curious about the shipment of the books.

That is a correct understanding.

I imagine that the warehouse crew is packaging the books right now. Once that's done they'll do a computer run and charge people's credit cards for those packages that got done today, and simultaneously unlock the downloads.

Friday they were printing up shipping labels and doing the pre-packaging.

EDIT: You have to consider that they might not be packaging one book, applying a shipping label, charging the card, and unlocking the download.. and then going on to the next customer. That might be be really inefficient. What I'm saying is that this is probably a batch process. The charging of credit cards and unlocking downloads just hasn't happened yet.

Illithar wrote:

I don't, it is my understanding that subscribers get access to the PDF after their hard copy has shipped. Which is why I curious about the shipment of the books.

That is a correct understanding.

I imagine that the warehouse crew is packaging the books right now. Once that's done they'll do a computer run and charge people's credit cards for those packages that got done today, and simultaneously unlock the downloads.

Friday they were printing up printing labels and doing the pre-packaging.

EDIT: You have to consider that they might not be packaging one book, applying a shipping label, charging the card, and unlocking the download.. and then going on to the next customer. That might be be really inefficient. What I'm saying is that this is probably a batch process. The charging of credit cards and unlocking downloads just hasn't happened yet.

You're probably right, I didn't think about that.

I've been doing the subscriber waiting game for several years now and I have found that, as hard as it is, it's generally best on the nerves to distract yourself with other things for the day or two that shipments go out. So many other elements can influence when your shipment is processed, like other items in your cart, how the list of subscribers is randomized, time zone differences, etc that refreshing your inbox every minute all day is a huge waste of time and just causes frustration. I tend to just set my auto-checker on a shorter refresh rate and turn the volume of the alert tone up and then do other things. When it comes, it'll come, whether that's today or tomorrow or Thursday.

I'm pretty sure I did things in the wrong order, decided to buy this book and then after poking around a bit subscribed to the adventure path. Ah well, can't wait to get this and start using it on my players.

Dragnmoon wrote:

Elfgasm wrote:

WAIT wait wait wait wait wait!

....where's the pdf?

For this serious question, I have a serious answer...

There will be no PDF, instead we will be getting a Video of the Paizo Employees reading a dramatized version of the Bestiary word for word.

Don't worry the video will be bookmarked so you can skip to the relevant scenes.

Paizo at this time has not released who is playing which parts. I hope we hear soon!

Fair warning: I called dibs on the nymph and the succubus. I apologize in advance for any blindness my representations of these creatures might incur. You might want to have a cup of bleach and a wire-bristle brush handy to scrub the sight out of your eyes when you get to those creatures.

Sure you will do this, so what about the boys of paizo speedo calendar I keep asking for?

James Jacobs wrote:

redcelt32 wrote:

Quick question for Vic or whoever else from Paizo may see it...since the Bestiary has no ship date officially yet, it does not show up in my subscriptions as a product with a timeline yet. Since I set them up to "ship monthly" and there is no Oct AP (and therefore my next monthly shipment reads Nov), does that mean the bestiary will become my October shipment, or roll over to Nov? I only ask here because I think its a unique situation with no Oct AP.

If you have your shipments set up to ship with your Adventure Path shipment, then yes; your Bestiary won't ship until Pathfinder AP volume #27 ships sometime in early November.

Actually James, I think you are wrong! :)

If you have your subscriptions set to monthly ship and there is no AP until November, then your October shipment will just be the Bestiary and it will go out next week.

-Lisa

Well, technically, you're both *right*—James correctly explained what happens if you have selected "hold for Pathfinder Adventure Paths" on your combined subs, and Lisa correctly explained what happens if you chose "hold for monthly shipment."

Since the original question, though, was about "hold for monthly shipment," Lisa's is the only answer that addresses the question.