Test your courage against the most infamous foes of myth and legend! Bestiary 3 presents hundreds of monsters for use in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Within this book you’ll find demiliches and demodands, grave knights and goblin snakes, norns and nephilim, imperial dragons and unfettered eidolons, and so much more! Yet not every creature needs to be an enemy, as winged garudas, crafty tanukis, and leonine lammasus all wait to join your party and answer the call of glory.
The Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 3 is the third indispensable volume of monsters for use with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and serves as a companion to the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook and Pathfinder RPG Bestiary. This imaginative tabletop game builds upon more than 10 years of system development and an Open Playtest featuring more than 50,000 gamers to create a cutting-edge RPG experience that brings the all-time bestselling set of fantasy rules into the new millennium.
The Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 3 includes:
More than 300 different monsters
Classic terrors from myth and literature, from the frumious bandersnatch and the righteous valkyrie to the cunning dybbuk and elusive kappa
Hordes of new creatures you can construct, grow, or summon to aid your party in its adventures
New player-friendly races to let you adventure as canny ratfolk, genie-blooded sulis, and more
New familiars, animal companions, and other allies
Challenges for any adventure and every level of play
Some of the strangest and most beloved creatures from fantasy roleplaying history and the Pathfinder campaign setting
Hosts of new templates and variants
Appendices to aid in monster navigation, including lists by Challenge Rating, monster type, and habitat
Expanded universal monster rules to simplify special attacks, defenses, and qualities
The third bestiary of monsters for Pathfinder is chock-full of cool stuff. A few major themes for the book can be extracted: creatures from myth and literature (like sasquatches and valkyries), creatures with an Asian theme perfect for adventuring in Tian-Xia (such as kami and jiang-shi vampires), and the just plain really weird (like yithians and zoogs). As always with reviews of books like this, there's no way I can go through the hundreds of monsters individually, but I can say the writing and artwork is top-notch. Some particular things to note:
* The book has five new playable races: catfolk, ratfolk, suli, vanara, and vishkanya. There's always a demand for anthromorphic races like catfolk, and ratfolk later become prominent (under the name ysoki) in Starfinder. Suli don't do much for me and vishkanya are a race I've never seen played. But I do have to shout out to the monkey-like vanara, since a vanaran PC features prominently in my Curse of the Crimson Throne campaign!
* Several of the attempts from Misfit Monsters Redeemed to make goofy old monsters cool again are reprinted here, such as adherers and wolves-in-sheep's-clothing.
* Man, vulnudaemons are creepy.
* Love the artwork for animal lords--very Black Panther.
*The book introduces several new categories (sub-types) of monster: asuras (very cool concept I've never seen used), behemoths (creatures of divine vengeance on entire nations or worlds; a neat story idea), clockworks (a classic), demodands (titanspawn who hate the gods), divs (corrupted genies who strive for the ruin of all things made by mortals), imperial dragons (wingless, serpent-like dragons of Asian legend), kami (fixed-location nature spirits), kytons (creepy devils from the Plane of Shadows!), leshy (plant-like sentients), linnorms (cruel wingless dragons with a death curse), oni (evil spirits given form--the opposite of kami), rakshasa (drawn from Indian myth), sphinxes (with an interesting write-up), and thriaes (female bee-like seers). There's a real contribution to the richness of the game here, as all of these categories can then serve as the basis for rules-coherent variants introduced in later books.
All in all, Bestiary 3 is an excellent book and a smart purchase for a GM.
Reading through Bestiary 1 and 2, I was hoping that there will be even more eastern themed monsters. This Bestiary delivers just what I wanted! A must buy! Also, Flumph!!!
This is probably my favorite of the Bestiaries so far, the content covers many iconic monsters from editions past, and stuff from the Adventure Paths. With great Asian flair for the Tian Xia world guide that is coming up, as well as many incredible monsters that have never graced the pages of a monster guide but are very welcome.
Although I'm generally opposed to the concept of core book "sequels," the content in 'Bestiary 3' is top notch. Whereas it took me some time to realize the usefulness of the monsters presented in 'Bestiary 2' (extraplanar/dimensional encounters rarely play a role in my campaigns), I immediately recognized many of the creatures in 'Bestiary 3' as either "iconic" or interesting variations on an established monster class.
As is to be expected, this book is well laid out and the illustrations are (mostly) top notch - Paizo rarely disappoints here! The Pathfinder Campaign Setting is still missing a few iconic monsters (mostly due to WotC's draconic licensing practices), but this volume (and the two which preceded it) gives GMs a huge variety of creatures to populate their encounters.
If I could make any suggestions for future 'Bestiary' volumes, the first would be to expand upon the lore provided - I realize it would likely halve the number of creatures included per book, but a two page spread (even for "simple" creatures like oozes) might help a GM find a place for a given creature within his campaign setting. Also, better illustrating a creature's size (perhaps even graphically) would be useful - general size classifications only go so far, and being able to see a silhouette of a given entry next to a human-sized creature would give both GMs and players a clear understanding of exactly how big a monster is (this was employed beautifully in an old FASA publication for Shadowrun: 'Paranormal Animals of North America' by Nigel Findley). Again, these are just suggestions on ways to improve an otherwise outstanding collection of Bestiaries. Keep up the good work!
An excellent monster book, strong mythological presence (from various cultures). Probably even better than Bestiary 2. And it has the flumph! (this is a good thing, well its worth a page) If you're looking for a monster book for some critters outside of the real core you would well to pick this up.
I recently converted the 3.5 beholder to pathfinder and actually found the experience pretty easy and fun using the rules in the Bestiary.. Felt like a game designer myself! (more than usual as a DM)
Please tell me that nutbunnies made it into the book.
LOL
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Nutbunnie Special Attacks nut crunch, double nut crunch
Okay, now you guys are just trying to get me to laugh myself to death!
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I recently converted the 3.5 beholder to pathfinder and actually found the experience pretty easy and fun using the rules in the Bestiary.
Jesus! Beholders? I hope they don't EVER come back. Those things are f'ing MONSTERS! Eye-stalk rays that cast disintegrate or flesh to stone PLUS an anti-magic cone effect from it's central eye! I can't COUNT the number of TIMES those things have devastated a party I was in!
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Even before Trogdor came along.
You best not be MOCKING the Burnerator James!
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Hence graveknight fills the role instead.
Plus the Graveknight is more Nazghoulish as well, what with it's unarmed parts being nothing but a dark void and all that jazz. ^_^
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber
James Jacobs wrote:
Dragon78 wrote:
Also the Beholder, Displacer Beast, Githyanki, and Githzeri are intellectual properties as well.
Is the Ravid an intellectual property also?
Yeah; the Ravid's protected by an almost equally powerful force as Intellectual Property law... many of us at Paizo kinda think it's a silly looking and just plain silly monster. Even before Trogdor came along.
Sounds like a front runner for Misfit Monsters 2
Ravids - Servitor race for the Jyoti on the positive energy plane. However on the material plane their minds go a little crazy and they develope a God Complex using their animate ability to build their own cult of followers. Ravids are instantly hostile towards any religion that doesn't specifically worship it as the one and only true deity.
Ethereal Filcher - Give them a reason to filch. Servants of some greater force Filchers do not just mindlessly steal but instead are assigned very specific objects to acquire and that artifact the PCs just uncovered is on the list. What hidden force in the Ethereal Plane do the Filchers serve and what is all that stuff for?
Graveknight got an awesome write-up in Undead Revisited. The graveknight template appeared (for Pathfinder RPG) in Pathfinder AP #26. Undead Revisited has the extensive write-up and a sample graveknight, but doesn't reprint the template.
Word to the wise: Be careful what you do with a graveknight's phat loot after you beat it down.
Looking forward to seeing graveknight template again in Bestiary 3. Hopefully it will have a new sample graveknight accompanying it, rather than a reprint of one of the samples from AP #26 or Undead Revisited. It's always nice to have a new sample templated creature when a template reappears.
Yeah; the Ravid's protected by an almost equally powerful force as Intellectual Property law... many of us at Paizo kinda think it's a silly looking and just plain silly monster. Even before Trogdor came along.
Ah HAH! That's why all my references to Ravids got deleted from TGB!
I am actually really glad that this book got pushed back into December. It comes at a time in which my gaming group takes a 6 week break for the holidays so I can fully study the book and implement new variety into my campaign once we all come back together and pick up the story.
It's says the PDF will be avaliable on Dec 21st but of course that could change.
Which leads me to a dilemma, as I will not be at my usual address for about a week as I visit family. Every year I try to play the guessing game of where to ship my December order and how fast to ship it.
On a more happy note: super psyched that we start getting previews for this soon.
I was just going to post that here! For those of you who are wondering, Gorbacz is linking to a PDF preview we did through Game Trade Magazine. I think there are six new monsters in that preview PDF (actually, turned out to be four, thanks for checking on me guys!). Enjoy!
I was just going to post that here! For those of you who are wondering, Gorbacz is linking to a PDF preview we did through Game Trade Magazine. I think there are six new monsters in that preview PDF. Enjoy!
He means the Alraune, I remember that one from Castlevania:syphony of the night.
The Lovecraftian critter is interesting for it's abilities and the fact it is LN not CN or CE like monst things from a Lovecraft setting.
Yeah, alignment is always a judgment call, but I decided LN fit them best. They're certainly not (as a group) C, G, or E, but I could see true neutral as a fit too. Their odd dedication to treating their guests fairly stuck with me as seeming L, though there is the issue of occasionally genociding the minds of an entire species to save themselves.
I still like them Russ but were they one of the two cretures cut from AP#46?
I'm not aware of nature of the AP #46 cuts, but I don't think so. I did my take on them (edited and improved by the amazing talent at Paizo) specifically for Bestiary 3.
I still like them Russ but were they one of the two cretures cut from AP#46?
Nope. There were actually THREE Lovecraftian critters cut from #46, though. The nightgaunt, the flying polyp, and the bhole. All three will make their appearance eventually, bu the Lovecraftian critters in Bestiary 3 are others who were always intended to be in Bestiary 3 and not an AP.
Bonus Nerd Points to the first person to figure out WHY the Yithian's in Bestiary 3 and not an AP!
Bonus Nerd Points to the first person to figure out WHY the Yithian's in Bestiary 3 and not an AP!
I'm over thinking this I'm sure.
The Yith Hound was in 1st Ed Monster Manual II, it's not an adversary in that AP issue but in an earlier issue (?) and is 0 Ed OGL and your keeping to tradition? Does it have to do with sharp corners?
Bonus Nerd Points to the first person to figure out WHY the Yithian's in Bestiary 3 and not an AP!
My guess is that they aren't on Golarion. Distant galaxy and all..
Probably not so much a question of distance as much as time. Since they are a race capable of mental travel, they very well might be on Golarion, just trying to adjust to the bodies of the locals. The crinoidal horrors are the bodies they inhabited on temporally distant Earth.
The form the Yithians are inhabiting in Bestiary 3 is the form they inhabited on Earth (in the past). I guess you probably don't see too many Yithians walking around Golarion, which would make them more appropriate for a Bestiary than AP?
My guess from last night, restored from the depths of time and space:
This nerd guesses it's because they're specific to Lovecraftian Earth in the ancient past and remote future (plus their original planet) rather than Golarion. Kind of like how Azathoth has a Golarion connection, Cthulhu does not.
Bonus Nerd Points to the first person to figure out WHY the Yithian's in Bestiary 3 and not an AP!
My guess is that they aren't on Golarion. Distant galaxy and all..
DING DING!
Yup; since the Bestiaries are world-neutral, doing stats for Lovecraftian critters that are native to Earth and probably would NOT be easilly found on Golarion is the main reason we did Yithians in this one.
Will their player stats be updated to include two claws, as the fluff and example changeling shows?
Nope; as mentioned above, no monsters beyond Serpent's Skull will be in Bestiary 3.
(EDIT: There MAY have been a couple of post-Serpent's Skull critters who snuck into Bestiary 3 late in the process as the need to replace monsters popped up... but the changeling isn't one of them. And in fact, I can't think of any post-Serpent's Skull critters that got in there at all... but I could be forgetting one or two or so of the 300+ monsters in the book.)
My guess from last night, restored from the depths of time and space:
This nerd guesses it's because they're specific to Lovecraftian Earth in the ancient past and remote future (plus their original planet) rather than Golarion. Kind of like how Azathoth has a Golarion connection, Cthulhu does not.
yup! Although we DID figure a way out to give Cthulhu a connection to Golarion in Pathfinder #46 that I'm actually quite proud of... he connects to Golarion (and to ALL planets) via the dreams of those planet's insane artists... and by his spawn, who like him are NOT from Earth and are out there navigating the Dark Tapestry and coming to other planets now and then, colonizing them, and then reporting back to the chief, at which points his dreams can start infecting the newly discovered world...
Yup; since the Bestiaries are world-neutral, doing stats for Lovecraftian critters that are native to Earth and probably would NOT be easilly found on Golarion is the main reason we did Yithians in this one.
But humans are native of earth (as a matter of fact, a lot of animals are too). So, the aboleth brought everyone from earth ? Then why the Yithians didn´t tag along ?
Yup; since the Bestiaries are world-neutral, doing stats for Lovecraftian critters that are native to Earth and probably would NOT be easilly found on Golarion is the main reason we did Yithians in this one.
But humans are native of earth (as a matter of fact, a lot of animals are too). So, the aboleth brought everyone from earth ? Then why the Yithians didn´t tag along ?
Because we've treated Lovecraftian creatures differently is all.