I think its sad the thread "The Bestiary Reminds Me of the 3e and 4e Monster Manuals" got derailed and locked down as it did.
I had one point about the Beatiary and fluff discussion I wish to press.

Monster reference!
I would like monster entries in the Beatiary to contain book and page reference to where the monsters where originally printed and other sources (Chronicles) where the creature is expanded upon.
Preferably under each monster entry.

I think its sad the thread "The Bestiary Reminds Me of the 3e and 4e Monster Manuals" got derailed and locked down as it did.
I had one point about the Beatiary and fluff discussion I wish to press.

Monster reference!
I would like monster entries in the Beatiary to contain book and page reference to where the monsters where originally printed and other sources (Chronicles) where the creature is expanded upon.
Preferably under each monster entry.

Perhaps an online bibliography would be easier to update and ultimately more useful.

Published monsters could be available from a database and published sources could be supplied for each with purchase links.

Right now it might seem that everything is in the Bestiary but other publications will make a shared resource more useful.

It would be nice if there was a downloadable pdf with a reference that you could print or take with you.

Sigurd

Perhaps an online bibliography would be easier to update and ultimately more useful.

It would be nice if there was a downloadable pdf with a reference that you could print or take with you.

Published monsters could be available from a database and published sources could be supplied for each with purchase links.

In fact, allow for multiple links as sometimes more than a single source may be involved in the writeup for a particular monster.

Man, this would sooooooo much help when it comes time to review the background on a particular creature...

Be careful. I don't want to suggest anything that would replace the monster manuals. Ideally, if its going to take effort, it should produce sales for Paizo.

I'm not saying anything against any fan initiative but I think it appropriate that an extended bibliography should sell books.

I think it would be a gesture of understanding if the list was fairly austere with a name, maybe a very short description (2 sentences max) and then a list of publications. The paizo publications would get links to the store where customers could buy them.

I think it far more positive to the game overall if it be a sort of hyper linked catalog not a meta monster manual. I want more books written.

It should have links to monster sources but it should show off the real published books in the best light possible.

I hope whoever is reading this finds this fair.

Sigurd

Just in case anyone isn't aware of it, the PathfinderWiki is a comprehensive, flavor-only resource that anyone can edit. We also have a strict citation policy, so any information added should be linked back to the product in question, addressing the above concern. It seems like a great fit for those who want the focus on the flavor of a monster in Golarion instead of its generic stats that are the same everywhere.

We also have a strict citation policy, so any information added should be linked back to the product in question, addressing the above concern.

Count me in.

I love getting the "Real World" history of these creatures.

If it's possible, I'd like to see a complete reference guide for each monster, including crucial references to non-game books, like Borges' Dictionary of Imaginary beings, or Keats' poem for the Lamia, or Bullfinch's. In my opinion, research is what sets Pathfinder bestiaries apart, and it would be great if that came along with a bibliography of sorts...

My suggestion: include it as an appendix in the Bestiary Volume 2, including those from the Bestiary. Then just have it as an appendix for each book as they are released.

Just in case anyone isn't aware of it, the PathfinderWiki is a comprehensive, flavor-only resource that anyone can edit. We also have a strict citation policy, so any information added should be linked back to the product in question, addressing the above concern. It seems like a great fit for those who want the focus on the flavor of a monster in Golarion instead of its generic stats that are the same everywhere.

That's actually a pretty cool idea. Too late to incorperate into the current Bestiary (and too extensive I fear to slap into a reprint) but since the majority of the monsters in the Bestiary are from the SRD, that's probably okay. I'm not sure if we really have the room to include this information either... space is pretty much at a premium on monster writeups. I'll mull it over though.

The Grandfather wrote:

I think its sad the thread "The Bestiary Reminds Me of the 3e and 4e Monster Manuals" got derailed and locked down as it did.
I had one point about the Beatiary and fluff discussion I wish to press.

Monster reference!
I would like monster entries in the Beatiary to contain book and page reference to where the monsters where originally printed and other sources (Chronicles) where the creature is expanded upon.
Preferably under each monster entry.

That's actually a pretty cool idea. Too late to incorperate into the current Bestiary (and too extensive I fear to slap into a reprint) but since the majority of the monsters in the Bestiary are from the SRD, that's probably okay. I'm not sure if we really have the room to include this information either... space is pretty much at a premium on monster writeups. I'll mull it over though.

I'm a new subscriber to the Adventure Paths but I could definitely see in the year or two remembering that there was detailed monster in one of the books I have on my shelf. It wouldn't be bad to today as I have only two APs and couple of other books but I see my library of Paizo goodness only growing.

James Jacobs wrote:

That's actually a pretty cool idea. Too late to incorperate into the current Bestiary (and too extensive I fear to slap into a reprint) but since the majority of the monsters in the Bestiary are from the SRD, that's probably okay. I'm not sure if we really have the room to include this information either... space is pretty much at a premium on monster writeups. I'll mull it over though.

It sounds like perfect web enhancement material, though.

No thanks. Whenever someone mentions those words, "web enhancement," I stress out. MAYBE once we're ahead of schedule (which has never happened since we switched from magazines to books) the idea of web enhancements won't make me twitch and cry. For now, the web enhancements we DO do have to basically consist of existing material that had to be cut from a book for space reasons... and even then, it's tough for us to do that extra bit of development, layout, editing, and web work to get the web enhancement up online. Actually creating something new from whole cloth (which is what this would be) would take one of us editors out of circulation for at least a day, I fear. And with some products still being over a month or two behind schedule, we don't have a day to devote to something like this.

Going forward, we can do this work as part of the process. Going backward is harder.

... and even then, it's tough for us to do that extra bit of development, layout, editing, and web work to get the web enhancement up online.