Demigods of Bestiary 6

Thursday, March 23, 2017

With the reveal of Pathfinder RPG: Bestiary 6's fiendishly ferocious cover last week, the time is finally right to start looking INSIDE of this book... or should I say the STARS are right? Because yes indeed we've got three more of Lovecraft's Great Old Ones appearing in this book. In fact, one of the recurring themes you'll notice right away (it's right there on the cover) is that we're including more statistics for demigods in Bestiary 6 than any other bestiary we've done. Now, obviously a stat block for a creature of CR 26 to CR 30 in power isn't going to be useful for every game, but that's not the only way to use a demigod in your game. These are foes not only intended to be the end bosses for full-on mythic campaigns, but movers and shakers for multiple campaigns. Demigods work best when they're NOT just stacks of hit points for your players to deplete... but printing statistics for them helps to quantify in a player's mind just how powerful they really are. In addition, each demigod entry is fully supported with rules for how their worshipers function, including information on cleric domains, subdomains, and favored weapons. We've also added a new appendix to this bestiary at the very end that reprints several domains and subdomains that have never before been printed in the RPG line, making it easier than ever to play a character who wants to use powers from the Scalykind domain or the Revelry subdomain, for example.

But enough about that. The point of this blog (and the next several to come over the following weeks) is to show off some art!

In Bestiary 6, we've got 4 categories of demigod represented—archdevils, empyreal lords, Great Old Ones, and the Horsemen of the Apocalypse. We've also got representation from the next tier down—so called "quasi deities" like qlippoth lords or the verdant Green Man. I've chosen three of these to illustrate below, focusing on new illustrations for each: the archdevil Baalzebul, the aforementioned Green Man (of which there are multiples—some neutral, some good, and some evil), and Tawil at'Umr.

Illustrations by William Liu, David Melvin, and Will O'Brien

Actually, that last one's a somewhat unusual case. As an avatar of Yog-Sothoth, Tawil at'Umr has never really been quantified as a Great Old One before, but the Lovecraft mythos are nothing if not mutable and accommodating. And rather than invent a brand new category of demigod, I decided that this eldritch master of time and space would work best in the Great Old One category. He (she? they?) certainly fits into the category, rules-wise, with the ability to kill you in your dreams only to immediately reincarnate you into a new body on another world, or the power to hurl those who gaze upon its true form into their own permanent microcosms. Tawil at'Umr was first introduced to the world in "Through the Gates of the Silver Key" by H. P. Lovecraft and E. Hoffmann Price. In the story, the entity is referred to as 'Umr at-Tawil, but in Bestiary 6 I decided to shift the name around a little to match Chaosium's preferred (and more grammatically correct when one interprets the name as being inspired by the Arabic language) version used in their Call of Cthulhu RPG, but just like all of these mythos monstrosities, changes to names or roles in world likely won't matter if your character decides to throw down against them. Tawil at'Umr is probably the toughest monster in the book, and in fact, might be the toughest monster we've ever statted up in a bestiary. He's "only" CR 30, but as an avatar of Yog-Sothoth, killing it isn't gonna stop it. From the Great Old One's Immortality entry in it's stat block:

"If Tawil at'Umr is killed, Yog-Sothoth can create a new avatar immediately. The replacement Tawil at'Umr typically does not reappear where it was killed, and it usually does not seek revenge against those who slew its predecessor. Usually."

James Jacobs
Creative Director

Onward To Adventure!

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

February has the tendency to sneak up on you when you least expect it, and fly right by! This first month-and-a-bit of 2017 has been chock full of exciting projects and new announcements, including our latest Humble Bundle initiative in partnership with Dynamite and our lineup of Starfinder products launching at Gen Con 2017. Since it's been a minute (or two... possibly three) since we've given folks an update on our product schedule, let's take a look at what the next few months have in store.

The next Pathfinder Adventure Path kicks off in just a few weeks with the first two volumes of the Ironfang Invasion—Pathfinder Adventure Path #115: Trail of the Hunted and Pathfinder Adventure Path #116: Fangs of War. The Ironfang Invasion Adventure Path calls back to classic adventures, focusing on exploring the unknown and confronting the fantastic, all to stop a monstrous enemy from wiping out the good people of Nirmathas and Molthune. The PCs will delve into dungeons, siege well-guarded keeps, explore the wilderness, and battle some of the most iconic creatures from the 40-year history of fantasy RPGs.

Speaking of "iconic creatures", how many of you are excited for even more monsters? This April, pick up Bestiary 6! This sixth monstrous-tome for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game includes over 200 monsters like archdevils, the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, play-character-suitable races, and even the creepy and horrific Krampus himself. While previews for Bestiary 6 are still a few weeks away, I snuck some artwork out for you to feast your eyes upon...

Illustrations by William Liu, Jorge Fares, Jim Pavelec, and Roberto Pitturru

But there are more options for your Pathfinder campaign rolling through! For me, summer means backpacking and in the months leading up to it, geeking out over the latest gear. What better than to prep your next character or tailor your next campaign with with the Adventurer's Guide releasing this May? And, if you're trying to cut gear weight like me, we just announced that both the GameMastery Guide and Advanced Player's Guide will be available in the travel-friendly Pocket Edition format.

To recap, here's the lineup of Pathfinder products releasing March:

• Pathfinder Adventure Path #115: Trail of the Hunted
• Pathfinder Adventure Path #116: Fangs of War
• Pathfinder Adventure Card Game—Mummy's Mask Adventure Deck #6
• Pathfinder Player Companion: Monster Hunter's Handbook
• Pathfinder Flip-Mat: Forbidden Jungle
• Pathfinder Society Scenario #8-16: House of Harmonious Wisdom
• Pathfinder Society Scenario #8-17: Refugees of the Weary Sky
• Pathfinder Legends—Curse of the Crimson Throne #3: Escape from Old Korvosa

August 2017

If you're heading to Gen Con later this summer, you can expect a full compliment of Pathfinder and Starfinder excitement! To get more details about the Starfinder products in this list, you'll want to read James L. Sutter's blog about their announcement. And of course, since this is months in the future, titles are subject to possibly shifting (or being added) to this list.

• Pathfinder Adventure Path #121: The Lost Outpost, the first volume in the Ruins of Azlant Adventure Path
• Pathfinder Adventure Card Game Magus Class Deck
• Pathfinder Player Companion: Elemental Master's Handbook
• Pathfinder Map Pack: Village Sites
• Starfinder Core Rulebook
• Starfinder Adventure Path #1: Incident at Absalom Station
• Starfinder GM Screen
• Starfinder Player Character Folio
• Starfinder Core Pawn Collection (and Base Assortment)
• Starfinder Flip-Mat: Basic Starfield
• Starfinder Flip-Mat: Basic Terrain

As we begin the slow-roll into a jam-packed convention season, more announcements are sure to come! Keep your eyes out, and until next time!

Chris Lambertz
Community & Digital Content Director