Illustration by Lloyd Allan
October is looming nearer, and with it comes the promise of new Paizo books that deal in the horrific, the supernatural, and the downright creepy. Chief among our offerings this year is a book I am very much excited for—the much-anticipated Pathfinder Player Companion: Blood of the Moon! This spiritual sequel to last year's Blood of the Night contains everything players need to know about werecreatures and their distant descendants, the skinwalkers, including rules for this all-new race of lycanthrope-kin and dozens of new mechanics to complement bestial adventurers of any race or path. Whether your skinwalker heritage emerged amid an assuming rural village or you were a human raised by wolves to become an animalistic barbarian, Blood of the Moon provides infinite inspiration and options for characters who have more than a tinge of the wild side running in their blood.
Anyway, it's probably about time we spilled some of the beans on this book. In no particular order, here are some of my favorite parts of Blood of the Moon.
- Bestial Powers for All: While a lot of the focus of this book is on skinwalkers, there's also no shortage of new info and new character options for players of any race or background as long as they have a flair for savagery and are willing to embrace the animal within.
- Eight Faces of Lycanthropy: Since skinwalkers can be descended from any type of lycanthrope—including familiar beasts such as werewolves, wererats, and werebears, as well as Golarion's more unusual werecreatures like weretigers and werecrocodiles—it made sense to include details and rules for each of these distinct lycanthrope races and their half-blooded brood. Whether you're playing a skinwalker, a natural or afflicted lycanthrope, a hunter of these creatures, or an adventurer who simply has a tendency for nocturnal bloodshed, each of the eight facets of lycanthropy presented in this book give characters of all walks ample opportunity to hone their deadly skills toward a path that best represents their tactics and personality.
- La Luna: No book on lycanthropes and their kin would be complete without an examination of these creatures' special relationship with the moon. In addition to exploring the mystical connection between lycanthropes and the moon, Blood of the Moon features the new lunar oracle mystery and even suggestions for how to play with lycanthropes on worlds with multiple moons (such as some of the planets in Golarion's own solar system).
Of course, there's much, much more in Blood of the Moon than the tidbits I've hinted at. In addition to explorations on skinwalkers' status in Golarion, in-world accounts of these creatures and their lycanthropic forebears, and a thorough analysis of lycanthropic infection and the process of transformation, this Player Companion features tons of new rules crunch, including new magic items, spells, feats, magus arcana, and witch hexes, to name just a few.
This was a very exciting Player Companion to develop, and I'm stoked to see what readers think of this no-holds-barred volume on all things lycanthrope. Take off the collar and get ready to unleash the beast within, because Blood of the Moon hits shelves next month!
Patrick Renie
Developer
