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.
While I am looking forward to this book, I am concerned about one thing.
A glut of reprints.
While I understand not everyone subscribes to the APs, having a glut of monsters from the AP books is what I think may turn off some people considering purchasing this. I know my GM has voiced concern about it, and he also pointed out that he thinks it's silly that people are paying for some monsters that were given for free on the Bonus Bestiary. That could've been more new monsters instead, according to his view. (I personally think because it's only a handful in a 300+ monster book that it shouldn't be that big a deal)
From what I see, a lot on the current list a previous poster put together appears to be quite a number of AP reprints, too. What, may I ask, is the estimated ratio of reprint and new monsters in this book? Maybe I can convince my GM to use it depending on the answer, hopefully.
Just a thought. Here's to something different with Bestiary 4! :D
"Reprints" of monsters that appeared in adventures or sourcebooks have been a staple of RPG monster bestiaries from the start, so that's nothing new. Having all those monsters gathered into one book rather than spread out across dozens and dozens of different books is, in my opinion, worth the price on its own.
And the concept of "paying for monsters we gave you for free" is kind of silly, since with the PRD, we're giving ALL of the monsters in the book away for free.
In any event, my rough guess is that about a third of the monsters in the book are "reprints" (and quite a few of those are updates from 3.5 monsters we published before we switched to Pathfinder).
I know this was probably mentioned up thread but i didn't find the post
Why is the release date the 28 of December?
Why not have the release date the 20 of december so people can put bestiaries under their Christmas trees?
Thanks
We were aiming for an earlier release date, but in this case, issues beyond our control caused a few week delay in getting the book out, alas. We're trying to get them shipped out ASAP, though!
When you say about a 1/3 reprints, are you including other sources then the APs? like like Tome of Horrors, modules, leftovers from the 3.5 monster manual that can be used?
I know this was probably mentioned up thread but i didn't find the post
Why is the release date the 28 of December?
Why not have the release date the 20 of december so people can put bestiaries under their Christmas trees?
Thanks
We were aiming for an earlier release date, but in this case, issues beyond our control caused a few week delay in getting the book out, alas. We're trying to get them shipped out ASAP, though!
James,
Thank you for taking the time to answer my question. Well, these things happen. I'm sure the book will be great and I cant wait to get my grubby little paws on a copy,
Thank you again
Myles Crocker
When you say about a 1/3 reprints, are you including other sources then the APs? like like Tome of Horrors, modules, leftovers from the 3.5 monster manual that can be used?
When I say "reprint," I mean "a monster that appeared as a new monster in a previous Paizo product."
Looking at Bestiary 2 as an example:
REPRINTS
Attic Whisperer (even though it's getting updated to Pathfinder from 3.5, its previous appearance was as a new monster in new monster format)
NEW
Aranea (even though it appeared in the 3.5 SRD, this is its first appearance in Pathfinder)
Aurumvorax (even though it appeared in Kingmaker, updated to Pathfinder from the Tome of Horrors, this is its first appearance in actual new monster format)
D'ziriak (even though it was originally described and mentioned in "The Great Beyond," It never got stats until this book)
Grindylow (legitimate brand new monster stats, although the monster itself isn't "new," it's from mythology)
Spider, Giant Tarantula (brand new monster, even if it was originally mentioned and its HD & CR listed in Bestiary 1)
Augnagar Qlippoth (brand new monster invented specifically for this book)
I'm happy with the "reprints". I don't buy the APs and they're all new for me :) As for the oriental content, I don't use much of it as is, but ideas are always welcome and a bit of reskinning and it's "western" so, no skin off my body. I'm picky in any event; I don't even use all the "western" / mytthological / fantasy fiction derived monsters.
I'd rather lug one bestiary than photocopies of monsters from previous APs. Heck, half the time I look at the bestiaries in the APs and select the ones I hope and pray make it into a bestiary before other monsters. The only real problem is that I'm only going to have a few days to look through Bestiary 3 and pick out what monsters I want to use before I run something at a furry convention I'm attending the following weekend.
I liked the Flumph, Disenchanter, Flail snail, and wolf in sheep's clothing the most from misfit monsters redeemed. Happy that some of these guys made it into the Beastairy 3.
"Reprints" of monsters that appeared in adventures or sourcebooks have been a staple of RPG monster bestiaries from the start, so that's nothing new. Having all those monsters gathered into one book rather than spread out across dozens and dozens of different books is, in my opinion, worth the price on its own.
Yes. Yes it is worth the price on its own. That you have a 1:2 ratio of reprint to new is fantastic, I'd be happy even if it was just 1:1. The AP bestiary monsters is the section I turn to first, even before checking out new artwork, but having them available in a single book and added to the PRD is an enormous benefit. I can't even begin to mention how many times I wished Dungeon magazine had released a compilation of the Campaign Workshop articles they offered.
For instance, the bullywug, er boggard mobongo or however you write that...absolutely perfect monster for my Savage Tide campaign, but one that never gets used because I don't always remember that it is located in PF 12. Or 11, or whichever. And even if I do, that means I have to go excavate it from my overflowing shelves...
So yeah, if the mobongo turns up in the Bestiary, I'll be super happy, and she'll likely make an appearance. Bestiary III sounds like it might be the best one yet.
In any event, my rough guess is that about a third of the monsters in the book are "reprints" (and quite a few of those are updates from 3.5 monsters we published before we switched to Pathfinder).
As an AP subscriber I like this. I was really happy when the Attic Whisperer found its way into the Bestiary 2.
Given that an average of about 60 monsters are released a year between 12 different APs issues, this should keep all of us busy for a very long time.
I would personally like to see a few select monsters from 3rd party PFRPG sources make there way into the Bestiaries also. This would be an excellent way to promote some of the best of the expanded material out there. Kind of how WOTC did with their 3rd editon Monster Manual 2.
The thing about monsters from the APs is that in the beginning I printed them out and put them in a book. Then do I put them together as they came out in the APs? Do I put them alphabetically?
What I do is I put them alphabetically, with a symbol denoting which AP (or Campaign Setting or Module) it is from in the page-header. And, soon 30+ issues of PFRPG bestiaries in, I keep an index.
The thing about monsters from the APs is that in the beginning I printed them out and put them in a book. Then do I put them together as they came out in the APs? Do I put them alphabetically?
What I do is I put them alphabetically, with a symbol denoting which AP (or Campaign Setting or Module) it is from in the page-header. And, soon 30+ issues of PFRPG bestiaries in, I keep an index.
And that is a great idea and I should get on that project. Got a spreadsheet to share? I think this would be an awesome community project.
At the moment I keep the index in a word-document formatted after the way the Bestiary-indexes were made (so one for CR, one for ecology, and one for type - maybe I should add one for source too... *strokes chin*)
This is the worst part, when the "You purchased this product" note appears, but you can't download it until the physical copy ships. Seeing that note suddenly takes it out of the abstract "coming soon" and makes it feel, well, real. It's like the difference between a kid asking for presents on Christmas and the kid seeing them under the tree (but not able to open them until the relatives arrive).
Anyway, reading "Death's Heretic" reminded me of a monster I hope is in Bestiary 3, the Phistophilus (or Contract Devil). Like the festrog and, to a lesser extent, the Ashmede Devil, it keeps popping up in products, but it didn't get into the Bestiary 2 like the Bdellavritra. (Also, of the three I mentioned, only the festrog has gotten a full conversion to Pathfinder. The one phistophilus encountered was modified, and the Ashmede statistics were for a summoned devil and so didn't include their summoning ability.)