Starfinder Cheat Sheet!

Friday, August 18, 2017

Starfinder just launched! We know that a lot of you are excited to start playing. We also know that the Starfinder Core Rulebook is 528 pages long. That's a lot to digest in a day.

Fortunately, you don't have to! While Starfinder has a ton of differences from Pathfinder, both glaring and subtle, one of the things we shot for in the design was making sure that if you know how to play Pathfinder, it's a fairly easy switch over to Starfinder. Toward that end, Starfinder Design Lead Owen K.C. Stephens, Organized Play Lead Developer John Compton, and Starfinder Society Developer Thurston Hillman have teamed up to craft this handy one-page "cheat sheet" to help you jump straight into the action. While these notes on key rules and differences between the two games is by no means exhaustive, and no substitute for actually reading the Core Rulebook, it should provide some helpful reminders and make it easier for your gaming group to dive in and start adventuring right away.

Illustration by Jose Parodi

Download the Quick Reference Sheet (919 kb zip/PDF)

James L. Sutter
Creative Director

Villains Everywhere!

Friday, October 21, 2016

Pathfinder RPG: Villain Codex is double-dealing, backstabbing, and betraying its way into your hands next month! The book contains 20 different villainous organizations, and we're going to reveal five of those organizations each week, with themes of mystical villains, wilderness villains, civilized villains, and enigmatic villains.

Arcane Society

Our focus group this week is the Arcane Society. This group seems to be a benevolent multinational mage's guild, led by the beloved philanthropist known as the Eminent Spellqueen. Of course, things aren't always what they seem...

Illustration by Nemanja Stankovic
"Sweet Shelyn, what is going on there!?"

The Eminent Spellqueen's protective wards have prevented us from revealing more of her dark personal secrets here in this blog, but we managed to get the scoop on her equally-powerful right hand, the grand caller. The information bellows includes a slightly alternate set of prepared spells and additional facts to enhance the grand caller in your game!

Grand Caller

The Grand Caller is mentally insatiable but physically lazy, preferring the use of minions to perform his tasks. He provides extraplanar minions for the arcane society, including a marilith with whom he has a dangerous relationship.

Grand Caller CR 14

XP 38,400

Human conjurer (teleportation^APG) 15

CE Medium humanoid (human)

Init +10; Senses all-around vision, darkvision 60 ft., true seeing, Perception +16

Defense

AC 22, touch 13, flat-footed 19 (+4 armor, +1 deflection, +2 Dex, +1 natural, +4 shield)

hp 171 (15d6+116)

Fort +17, Ref +15, Will +18; +4 vs. mind-affecting

Defensive Abilities contingency (teleport), death ward, fickle winds, freedom of movement, getaway; Immune dimensional anchor, fear

Offense

Speed 30 ft., fly 40 ft. (good)

Melee mwk dagger +11/+6 (1d4-1/19-20)

Wizard Spells Prepared (CL 15th; concentration +23)

8th—maze, mind blank, moment of prescience

7th—greater teleport, mage's magnificent mansion, project image, summon monster VII

6th—getaway^APG, greater dispel magic, greater heroism, quickened dazing aqueous orb^APG (DC 24), true seeing

5th—dazing persistent aqueous orb^APG (DC 24), fickle winds, magic jar (DC 23), overland flight, summon monster V (2)

4th—dimension door, dimensional anchor, enervation, greater false lifeUM, summon monster IV, telekinetic charge^UC

3rd—countless eyes^UM, daylight, fly, haste, heroism, invisibility sphere, stinking cloud (DC 23)

2nd—bear's endurance, command undead (DC 20), darkvision, glitterdust (DC 22), invisibility, mirror image, resist energy

1st—comprehend languages, grease (DC 21), mage armor, protection from evil, protection from good, shield, unseen servant

0 (at will)—detect magic, ghost sound, mage hand, prestidigitation

Opposition Schools evocation

Illustration by Nemanja Stankovic

Tactics

Before Combat On a previous day, the grand caller set a contingency to teleport to a safe house whenever someone tries to attack him. He casts mind blank, getaway, moment of prescience, greater false life, mage armor, overland flight, countless eyes, darkvision, true seeing, fickle winds, greater heroism, bear's endurance, and shield and uses his scrolls of freedom of movement, death ward, and spell immunity (choosing dimensional anchor).

During Combat The grand caller summons appropriate minions for the situation to bolster those he has already called or created. He uses shift to keep mobile, dazing aqueous orb to control the battlefield, and telekinetic charge to help his marilith ally achieve full attacks.

Morale The grand caller rarely exposes his true self to danger, preferring to use spells like magic jar to control other bodies when he must be personally present. He flees whenever in true danger but fights to the death in a disposable body.

Base Statistics Without his spells, profane gift, and familiar, the grand caller's statistics are Senses no all-around vision, darkvision, or true seeing; AC 14, touch 13, flat-footed 11; hp 100 (15d6+45); Fort +11, Ref +11, Will +14; Speed no fly speed; Defensive Abilities no defensive abilities; Immune no immunities; Melee mwk dagger +7/+2 (1d4-1/19-20); Con 14, Int 24; CMB +6; Skills all 4 lower, Fly +5.

Statistics

Str 8, Dex 15, Con 18, Int 26, Wis 12, Cha 10

Base Atk +7; CMB +10; CMD 19

Feats Augment Summoning, Dazing Spell^APG, Dimensional Agility^UC, Greater Spell Focus (conjuration), Improved Initiative, Opposition Research^UM (necromancy), Persistent Spell^APG, Quicken Spell, Scribe Scroll, Spell Focus (conjuration), Spell Perfection^APG (aqueous orb), Superior Summoning^UM, True Name^UM (marilith)

Skills Bluff +22, Diplomacy +22, Fly +20, Intimidate +21, Knowledge (arcana) +27, Knowledge (history) +27, Knowledge (planes) +27, Perception +20, Sense Motive +20, Spellcraft +27, Use Magic Device +22

Languages Abyssal, Aquan, Celestial, Common, Infernal, Terran

SQ arcane bond (familiar, compsognathus), shift (11/day, 35 ft.)

Combat Gear reach metamagic rod (lesser)^APG, scroll of death ward, scroll of freedom of movement, scroll of spell immunity; Other Gear mwk dagger, amulet of natural armor +1, belt of incredible dexterity +2, circlet of persuasion, cloak of resistance +4, headband of vast intelligence +4, ring of protection +1, statuette for contingency, 282 gp

The grand caller is the Spellqueen's trusted right hand, an arrogant and paranoid man who acts like a chessmaster with the world as a board, manipulating or forcing others into acting as his pieces. He has numerous countermeasures in place, from a clone spell to a contingency escape plan, and he generally has several outsider allies called by greater planar binding at any given time. The grand caller has a bizarre relationship with the marilith whose true name he holds. In contrast to the normal hatred in such a situation, she is unusually fond of him, but she resents his loyalty to the Spellqueen. The marilith has granted him a profane gift from one of her succubus minions, and she hopes this will help corrode his ties with the Spellqueen. In a serious fight, the marilith will always be at the grand caller's side, but he doesn't use her frivolously as he does his lesser minions.

Death Cult

The death cult of Urgathoa, and its leader the Reaper, believes that death is the ultimate form of equality and an end to suffering in a world full of oppression. While they do want to spread killer plagues, they're equal-opportunity employers, even if you opposed them before you died. In fact, one of the Reaper's most trusted advisors was once an adventurer who helped kill the Reaper.

Demon Knights

The demon knights are a military force of pure destruction, each modeling themselves after a particular type of demon. For instance, their general is the mighty Merciless Balor, an antipaladin who fights with a blade and a flaming whip. While their training techniques generally kill their new recruits, the fallen recruits provide not only a good example for the others but also a nourishing meal.

Brutal Slavers

The brutal slavers are double-dealing and sadistic scoundrels, led by the silver-tongued slave master, who works as a lobbyist in favor of slavery in general and his own organization in particular, and the horrifying experimenter, who uses slaves as living test subjects with the goal of mastering the secrets of fleshwarping to create a more powerful version of mongrelmen with the strengths of every humanoid race. Someone needs to be around to tend to injuries that would prevent the slaves from performing labor for the slavers or selling well on the open market, so of course the slavers brought in a sadistic cleric of Zon Kuthon because that can't go wrong.

Diabolical Church

In a town suffering upheaval and tragedy, who wouldn't be happy to see a new lawful church enter town and donate their spellcasting services for free, healing the sick, fighting off marauding monsters, and helping build infrastructure? Never mind who secretly started that upheaval, the point is that the church of Asmodeus is just misunderstood. Surely nothing can go wrong if you accept your new protectors, and it's not like those favors you've started to owe them are going to amount to anything important...

Illustrations by Jose Parodi, Damien Mammoliti, Matt Forsyth, and Kent Hamilton

Stay tuned next week for a taste of wilderness villains!

Mark Seifter
Designer

Your Faith is Rewarded!

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Faith and religion are ubiquitous in Golarion, and some of the world's most fascinating divinities have also historically been its most mysterious. With the recent release of Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Faiths, though, we're drawing back the curtains shrouding 15 of the Inner Sea region's lesser-known deities. From Milani, the valiant Everbloom, to Brigh, the enigmatic Whisper in the Bronze, to Zyphus, the Grim Harvestman, this divine goody bag is filled with lore and tools for faithful characters. Now, let's reveal some of its secrets!

For those who want to play a devout character with the Deific Obedience feat, this book offers obediences and boons for all 15 featured deities. There are boons available to characters with levels in the evangelist, exalted, and sentinel prestige classes (Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Gods 198-203); characters without levels in those prestige classes can access the exalted boons.

Like other obediences we've published, the obediences in Inner Sea Faiths are tightly tied to their deities' portfolios, concerns, and roles in the campaign setting. For instance, take Kurgess's obedience, as written by freelancer Patrick Renie:

Find the nearest boulder, log, or other unattended object that you can reliably lift over your head, and hold it up high for the duration of the obedience. If you are interrupted at any time by any creature or person, you must challenge your interrupter to a contest of strength, speed, or stamina, with the boulder or other object of your obedience as the main focus of the competition. Regardless of who wins, gain a +2 sacred bonus on Acrobatics and Climb checks.

For those more interested in how these faiths fit into Golarion's society at large, the book provides in-depth information about each divinity's priests—how they tend to approach their roles, what their lifestyles look like, and how they might interact with passing adventurers.

Each divinity's section also includes artwork of a priest of that faith. For instance, below we have priests of Achaekek, the Mantis God, whose section's author is Creative Director James Jacobs; Gyronna, the Angry Hag, whose section's author is Developer Crystal Frasier; and Sivanah, the Seventh Veil, whose section's author is Project Manager Jessica Price.

Illustrations by Kiki Moch Rizky, Jon Neimeister, and Firat Solhan

And, last but not least, I'd be remiss if I didn't share this totally metal opening piece of artwork for Zyphus's section.

Illustration by Jose Parodi

I'll leave you with a final hint: that section's remaining art? Just as metal, right down to the malevolent wraith standing beside the god himself.

Amanda Hamon Kunz
Developer

You Only Die Twice!

Thursday, November 12th, 2015

This is it folks—the final matchup round for our Bestiary 5 previews, and your final chance to get in your votes and a chance to win a copy of Bestiary 5!

Illustrations by Ben Wootten and Jose Parodi

Wyrmwraith CR ??

This ghostly, skeletal creature appears to once have been a dragon, but it is now something far less noble.

CE Gargantuan undead (incorporeal)

Init +16; Senses darkvision 60 ft., lifesense; Perception +38

Aura unnatural aura

Defense

Defensive Abilities channel resistance +4, incorporeal, positive energy transference; Immune undead traits

Weaknesses sunlight powerlessness

Offense

Special Attacks breath weapon (60-ft. cone, ?d? negative energy and 1 negative level), create spawn, ectoplasmic shift, energy drain (? levels, DC ??)

Statistics

SQ phase lurch

Ecology

Ecology any

Organization solitary or cadre (1 plus 2–4 dread wraiths)

Treasure double

Special Abilities

Create Spawn (Su) Any humanoids slain by a wyrmwraith become dread wraiths (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 281) in 1d4 rounds. Spawn are under the command of the wyrmwraith that created them and remain enslaved until its death, at which point they become free-willed dread wraiths. They don’t possess any of the abilities they had in life.

Divine Dispelling (Su) When a wyrmwraith strikes a creature with one of its claws, that creature is also affected by a targeted greater dispel magic (CL ??th) that can dispel only divine spells.

Ectoplasmic Shift (Su) A wyrmwraith can push through the ectoplasmic veil to temporarily assume a physical form made of ectoplasm. As a swift action, the wyrmwraith can become corporeal for ?d? rounds. It can return to its incorporeal form as a free action. Once its ectoplasmic form’s duration ends, the wyrmwraith can’t assume that form again for ?d? rounds. While in ectoplasmic form, the wyrmwraith loses the incorporeal ability (including its deflection bonus to AC) and gains a +?? natural armor bonus to AC, DR ??/—, a Strength score equal to its Dexterity score, and the phase lurch ability. The AC for a typical wyrmwraith in ectoplasmic form is ??. When in ectoplasmic form, its attacks are Melee bite +?? (?d?+?? plus energy drain), 2 claws +?? (?d?+?? plus divine dispelling), 2 wings +?? (?d?+?), tail slap +?? (?d?+??).

Phase Lurch (Su) A wyrmwraith in ectoplasmic form can pass through walls or material obstacles. It must begin and end its turn outside whatever wall or obstacle it’s moving through. It can’t move through corporeal creatures with this ability, and its movement speed is halved while moving through a wall or obstacle. Any surface it moves through is coated with a thin, silvery mucus that lingers for 1 minute.

Positive Energy Transference (Su) Whenever a wyrmwraith succeeds at a saving throw to resist positive energy damage but still suffers damage, the wyrmwraith can immediately transfer that damage to any dread wraith spawn of its choice with ?? feet that it controls. The wyrmwraith takes any excess damage beyond the spawn’s hit points. Even if the wyrmwraith has no spawn under its control, when it succeeds at its save against a positive energy effect that normally deals half damage on a successful save, it instead takes one quarter damage.

The Wyrmwraith tore through the Deep Merfolk like me at a sushi bar, crushing it by a 2-to-1 margin to win. With a veritable host of abilities at its disposal, not to mention the ability to phase through solid objects, the Wyrmwraith is a mighty opponent, and not one to trifle with.

Pakalchi Sahkil CR ??

Thorny vines with tiny red flowers grow from this emaciated woman and flow like a train behind her.

NE Medium outsider (evil, extraplanar, sahkil)

Init +10; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, true seeing; Perception +13

Defense

DR 10/good; Immune death effects, disease, fear effects, poison; Resist cold 10, electricity 10, sonic 10; SR 20

Offense

Special Attacks bleed (?d?), entangling train, look of fear (?? ft., DC ??), spirit touch, sudden strike, thorns

Statistics

SQ easy to call, emotional focus, skip between

Ecology

Ecology any (Ethereal Plane)

Organization solitary, pair, or plot (3–7)

Treasure standard

Special Abilities

Easy to Call (Ex) Sahkils count as having 4 fewer Hit Dice (minimum 2) for purposes of spells or effects that call outsiders, such as planar binding. However, they receive a racial bonus equal to 1/2 their Hit Dice on Charisma checks to break free of planar binding spells and similar effects, and their spell resistance counts as if it were 5 higher for the purpose of breaking free of planar binding spells and similar effects.

Emotional Focus (Ex) Whenever a sahkil casts a spell or uses a spell-like ability or effect with the emotion^UM or fear descriptors that allows a saving throw, the DC is increased by 2.

Entangling Train (Su) Creatures adjacent to a pakalchi must succeed at a DC ?? Reflex save or become entangled in its vines for ? rounds, and count as tethered. Entangled creatures take vine damage automatically each round they’re entangled. Creatures are no longer entangled if the pakalchi moves away. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Look of Fear (Su) A creature affected by a pakalchi’s gaze is panicked for ? rounds and shaken for ?d? rounds thereafter. A creature that successfully saves against this effect is only shaken for ? rounds. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Poison (Ex) Thorns—injury; save Fort DC ??; frequency ?/round for ? rounds; effect ?d? Wis damage; cure 3 consecutive saves. A creature with Wisdom damage from a pakalchi’s poison hears paranoid whispers warning of betrayal. It can’t treat any other creature as an ally or be a willing target for a spell or effect. This is an emotion^UM effect.

Skip Between (Su) Many sahkils can shift between the Ethereal Plane and the Material Plane as a move action. This ability is otherwise identical to ethereal jaunt (CL ??th).

Spirit Touch (Ex) A sahkil’s natural weapons, as well as any weapon it wields, are treated as though they had the ghost touch weapon special ability.

Sudden Strike (Ex) Once per round, a pakalchi can extend the reach of one claw or thorned vine by ? feet as part of a single attack. It can use this ability to threaten additional squares to cause an enemy to provoke an attack of opportunity.

Thorns (Ex) A pakalchi can fling a volley of poisonous thorns as a standard action (make an attack roll for each thorn). This attack has a range of ??? feet with no range increment.

The power of cute was not strong enough to save the Lotus Leshy, and the Pakalchi Sahkil crushed it with the power of its floral arrangement. Against the Wyrmwraith, the Pakalchi's spirit touch will be a great aid against the incorporeal Wyrmwraith—but will it be enough?

Customer Service Representative Diego Valdez: "No contest, the Wyrmwraith wins. The Pakalchi may not be afraid of the undead, incorporeal, dragon because it is immune to fear, but it should be. It should be. A bit of damage resistance barely slows down a dragons jaws."

Designer Mark Seifter: "The pakalchi might have barely knocked off the lotus leshy, but she’s bitten off more than she can chew with the wyrmwraith. As she unloads her attacks against her foe, she finds that it’s basically immune to her entire repertoire, from fear, to mind control, to poison. Bet she wishes she hadn’t given up on that whole psychopomp thing now; she might once have been a morrigna, and then she would have stood a better chance against undead. The best thing she can do here is step between to run away and forfeit the match. Meanwhile, the wyrmwraith’s first breath attack has left her enervated and badly hurt. There’s no chance she’ll survive the wyrmwraith's full attack!"

Now that you've seen the entrants for the Final Round, head on over to the Voting Booth to place your bets! If you vote on a winning creature, you'll increase your chances to win a signed copy of Bestiary 5, or be one of four winners of a digital version! The third round of voting closes at 12:00 PM Pacific time on November 18th, 2015, and remember, each round will give you more chances to win!

Vote Now!

After a late night of journeying in the Wastelands, I'm gonna need a quad-shot, so here's a quad-shot of monster previews!

Illustrations by Wayne England, Jim Nelson, and Dave Allsop

Until we meet again,

Liz Courts
Community Manager

Remember Remember, It's Bestiary 5 This November!

Thursday, November 5th, 2015

With the Round 2 votes in, we're down to the final four in our Bestiary 5 previews! Without further ado, let's get them in our lineup and presented for you to win a copy of Bestiary 5 with your winning votes!

Illustrations by Ben Wootten and Tomasz Chistowski

Wyrmwraith CR ??

This ghostly, skeletal creature appears to once have been a dragon, but it is now something far less noble.

CE Gargantuan undead (incorporeal)

Init +16; Senses darkvision 60 ft., lifesense; Perception +38

Aura unnatural aura

Defense

Defensive Abilities channel resistance +4, incorporeal, positive energy transference; Immune undead traits

Weaknesses sunlight powerlessness

Statistics

SQ phase lurch

Ecology

Ecology any

Organization solitary or cadre (1 plus 2–4 dread wraiths)

Treasure double

A clear winner with over a two-to-one margin, the Wyrmwraith crushed the Thought Eater out of the competition—and given its options, I can only imagine the manner in which it did so... Wait, what is this "phase lurch" ability?

Deep Merfolk CR ??

This gaunt mermaid has a long, semitransparent tail with a vivid red crest and caudal fin.

N Medium humanoid (aquatic)

Init +9; Senses blindsense 30 ft., darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +2

Defense

Defensive Abilities deep dweller, semitransparent; Resist cold 5

Weaknesses light sensitivity

Ecology

Ecology any oceans (trenches)

Organization solitary, family (2–4), or tribe (10–15)

Treasure standard (spear, other treasure)

Mortal flesh meant immortal doom for the Twilight Pitri Manasaputra, and the Deep Merfolk triumphed, though not as overwhelmingly so. The outcome of this match-up between the Wyrmwraith and the Deep Merfolk is going to be in the dark—after all, they are rather sensitive to the light...

Accountant Ashley Kaprielian: "Two creatures of darkness enter this battle. Will the Wyrmwraith’s hate light the way to the merfolk’s demise? Or will the merfolk lead the Wyrmwraith down a false path and give it what it needs the most—the end of its undead existence."

Customer Service Representative Diego Valdez: "A giant green, glowing, skeleton dragon!? Good thing merfolk are good swimmers! I bet undead dragons aren’t bad swimmers themselves though, what with the being undead and not needing to breathe. Goodbye Deep Merfolk!"

Designer Mark Seifter: "It looks like the Deep Merfolk is trying to use its semitransparency ability to hide, but the Wyrmwraith’s lifesense gives it the advantage. While the Deep Merfolk might still manage to get in a lucky sneak attack, all the Wyrmwraith has to do is change from ectoplasmic to incorporeal form for a sure victory."

Illustrations by Jose Parodi and Daniel López

Pakalchi Sahkil CR ??

Thorny vines with tiny red flowers grow from this emaciated woman and flow like a train behind her.

NE Medium outsider (evil, extraplanar, sahkil)

Init +10; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, true seeing; Perception +13

Defense

DR 10/good; Immune death effects, disease, fear effects, poison; Resist cold 10, electricity 10, sonic 10; SR 20

Statistics

SQ ???, ???, skip between

Ecology

Ecology any (Ethereal Plane)

Organization solitary, pair, or plot (3–7)

Treasure standard

As Mark predicted, the Su and its whelps were no match for the Pakalchi Sahkil, who tore apart their familial bonds with a whisper. Make no mistake, the Pakalchi Sahkil is poison!

Lotus Leshy CR ??

A plant whose body resembles a blooming lotus flower exudes an air of serenity.

N Small plant (leshy, shapechanger)

Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +14

Aura tranquility (20 ft., DC ??, 10 rounds)

Defense

Immune electricity, plant traits, sonic

Statistics

SQ ???, verdant burst

Ecology

Ecology warm lakes or ponds

Organization solitary

Treasure standard

The Lotus Leshy won out against the Roiling Oil, and is now head to head against the Pakalchi Sahkil—it's a Battle of the Flowers! The sahkil's poison won't affect the leshy, but will the leshy's aura be enough to deny the sahkil?

Ashley: "This leshy might be small, but it could be the only thing able to sooth the nightmare of this Pakalchi into a sweet dream. The Pakalchi’s thorny vines might squeeze all of the hope out of our little leshy before that’s possible though. This will be a knock-down, drag-out fight between the breaker and the unbroken!"

Diego: "The Pakalchi has those terrifying vines with all the thorns, but really, look at the Leshy. Can even an NE creature bring itself to tear apart something that adorable!? While the Pakalchi is cooing at the cuteness, the Leshy will serenely tear it to bits."

Mark: "The pakalchi is a terror in more ways than one, but the leshy is proving a thorn in her side. The cute contemplative is immune to her fear aura and dominate power, and so it's keeping its distance from her entangling train, dealing with the minor damage from her ranged thorns and pelting her with dream pollen. Eventually she’s going to fall asleep, so I’m tentatively calling this one for the leshy!”

Now that you've seen the entrants for Round 3, head on over to the Voting Booth to place your bets! If you vote on a winning creature, you'll increase your chances to win a signed copy of Bestiary 5, or be one of four winners of a digital version! The third round of voting closes at 12:00 PM Pacific time on November 12th, 2015, and remember, each round will give you more chances to win!

Vote Now!

And here's another trio of monster previews: an aberration, fey, magical beast, and an outsider!

Illustrations by Damien Mammoliti, Alexandru Sabo, Dave Allsop, and Tomasz Chistowski

Until we meet again,

Liz Courts
Community Manager

Let (Im)mortal Combat Continue!

Thursday, October 29, 2015

We've got the results in from Round 1, and we're ready to show off Round 2 of our Bestiary 5 previews—not to mention a chance for you to win a copy of Bestiary 5!

Without further ado, let's show off our winners from Round 1!

Illustrations by Bryan Sola and Ben Wootten

Thought Eater CR ??

A nimbus of glowing, intangible matter envelops this strange skeletal creature with a birdlike beak.

N ??? aberration (extraplanar)

Ecology

Ecology any (Ethereal plane)

Organization solitary or group (1–3)

Treasure none

With your votes, the Thought Eater beat out the Monstrous Humanoid it was paired against! Back into the ocean with you, Monstrous Humanoid! The Though Eater might have some problems with its new opponent, though...

Wyrmwraith CR ??

This ghostly, skeletal creature appears to once have been a dragon, but it is now something far less noble.

CE ??? undead (incorporeal)

Ecology

Ecology any

Organization solitary or cadre (1 plus 2–4 dread wraiths)

Treasure double

The Wyrmwraith crushed the Fey by one of the wider margins in the contest. Sharp-eyed fans may have noticed a glowing green dragon on the cover of the Advanced Class Guide, but now it has stats (and if it has a statblock, you can kill it...right? Guys, where did you go?)

Adam Daigle (Developer): "Dwarfed by the wyrmwraith, the thought eater is going to have to be clever to win this battle of the strange skeletons!"

Mark Seifter (Designer): "A lot of people have been saying that the wyrmwraith's phenomenally greater power level will cinch this fight, and it does have the ACG cover on its side, but fundamentally, this is a creature that detests its own existence, whereas the thought eater, while humble, has a go-getter attitude and isn't afraid to team up with adventurers."

Illustrations by Tomasz Chistowski and Subroto Bhaumik

Deep Merfolk CR ??

This gaunt mermaid has a long, semitransparent tail with a vivid red crest and caudal fin.

N ??? humanoid (aquatic)

Ecology

Ecology any oceans (trenches)

Organization solitary, family (2–4), or tribe (10–15)

Treasure standard (spear, other treasure)

Orthos correctly guessed that the humanoid was an "eel-humanoid mermaid-like thing", and the Deep Merfolk won against Outsider C. No love for creatures of the heavens, it seems—mortalkind wins again! But can it win a second time?

Twilight Pitri (Barhisad) Manasaputra CR ??

Cerulean light surrounds this towering four-armed figure in a vibrant corona.

LG ??? outsider (extraplanar, good, lawful, manasaputra)

Ecology

Ecology any (Positive Energy Plane)

Organization solitary

Treasure none

The Twilight Pitri Manasaputra is not the only manasaputra in Bestiary 5, and many of her abilities tie heavily into elements from Occult Adventures—but to see which ones, she'll have to make it to future rounds!

Ashley Kaprielian (Accountant): "Let's hope that the Twilight Pitri can slap some enlightenment into this Deep Merfolk before she's unmade. The Deep Merfolk is cool, calm, and elusive under pressure though, so this will be an epic battle between these paragons of light and darkness!"

Mark: "Let's face it, I have to give the twilight pitri credit for surviving the destruction of the previous Multiverse, and it could deep freeze the deep merfolk in an instant, but the deep merfolk is a mortal humanoid, so I think she's got this by just exploiting the pitri's aversion to meddling in mortal affairs. The pitri would have done better against the wyrmwraith or pakalchi."

Illustrations by Brynn Metheney and Jose Parodi

Su CR ??

This emaciated quadruped has a mouth full of jagged teeth and a cluster of bald, mewling offspring clinging to its back.

CE ??? magical beast

Ecology

Ecology any forests

Organization solitary, pair, or troop (3–6)

Treasure incidental

Alas, John, the Su stomped Magical Beast A by nearly twice the votes, offering no quarter and certainly no mercy. The fight between "who's art is creepier" is gonna be a tough one with its next opponent...

Pakalchi Sahkil CR ??

Thorny vines with tiny red flowers grow from this emaciated woman and flow like a train behind her.

NE ??? outsider (evil, extraplanar, sahkil)

Ecology

Ecology any (Ethereal Plane)

Organization solitary, pair, or plot (3–7)

Treasure standard

DeciusNero was the first to identify Outsider B as a sahkil fiend, and this particular variant is the pakalchi! I would say this creature is spooky good...but there is nothing "good" about any sahkil!

Adam: "Dragons are always tough contenders, so I'm glad that my pakalchi sahkil beat it in the silhouette round. Now that she's squaring off against the su, a beast one of my PCs squared off against recently, she has to bring it to make it to the next round. I'm confident she'll strike fear into her opponent and pull off a win."

Ashley: "It's a good thing the Pakalchi Sahkil can fight blind, because those whelps have a face only their mother could love. I would be angry all the time too if I had six kids clinging to me. The level of malice in this ring is enough to make even Zon-Kuthon take notice."

Mark: "This one's a slam dunk: The su brings its whole family to bear, using its young as psychic batteries for its magic, but the pakalchi specializes in breaking the bonds between loved ones, so this is the perfect match-up for her."

Illustration by Joshua Meehan and Daniel López

Roiling Oil CR ??

This viscous heap slides like an inky spill. It's the color of a starless night sky, and a thick odor permeates the air around it.

N ??? ooze

Ecology

Ecology any underground

Organization solitary

Treasure none

No tempura for me, alas! The Vermin gets to scuttle back to the ocean in peace and comfort, while the Roiling Oil will slither along to face its next victim!

Lotus Leshy CR ??

A plant whose body resembles a blooming lotus flower exudes an air of serenity.

N ??? plant (leshy, shapechanger)

Ecology

Ecology warm lakes or ponds

Organization solitary

Treasure standard

Dragon78 also correctly identified the Lotus Leshy as our representative flora of Bestiary 5! It's definitely winning in the cute department, but will it be enough?

Mark: "Roiling Oil is an unintelligent ooze and lotus leshy is an adorable plant possessed of mystical wisdom. The ooze might be able to resist the leshy's dream pollen attack, but the leshy is smart enough to keep out of the slower ooze's way and find something to slash it with from afar."

Now that you've seen the entrants for Round 2, head on over to the Voting Booth to place your bets! If you vote on a winning creature, you'll increase your chances to win a signed copy of Bestiary 5, or be one of four winners of a digital version! The second round of voting closes at 12:00 PM Pacific time on November 4th, 2015, and remember, each round will give you more chances to win!

Vote Now!

What's that? You want more creatures in this feature? Well, alright then! Here's a few representatives from the creature types that didn't make it into Round 2.

Illustrations by Ertaç Altınöz, Aleksey Bayura, and Jose Parodi

Until we meet again,

Liz Courts
Community Manager