![]() Sign in to create or edit a product review. Apparently, bestiaries are the strongest point of Paizo, since, as opposed to the "Ultimate" line, their quality is not decreased from the core books. I would dare to say it is actually improved. The book contains monsters inspired by several cultures, and is a delightful little travel in folklore other than a very good RPG supplement. Creatures qualities and special attacks are effective and diverse (with few exceptions), from a wisely added double bite attack, to more complex and GM-inspiring out and in- combat powers. Animals and vermins are well made, and the preistoric ones are more diverse than the usual "more dinosaurs" (but fear not, dinosaurs fan will not be disappointed). Fey are very good, even if I wished some more high CR ones (but, hellooo, Norn!). Few aberrations, H.P. Lovercraft inspired, definitively removed my mind flayer nostalgia. Great love for the nagas too. Plants are scary. Undeads are SCARIER, and you will love the new dreadful templates added. Monstrous humanoids and magical beasts come in different shapes and exotic powers. Oozes are finally interesting! Even an ooze-hater like me found entries able to intrigue me. Constructs are excellent. We find some clerical domain based ones, golems able to do more than just bash the enemy, and a brand new category incredibly cool. Dragons come with several minor ones, the oriental sovereign (mixed feelings) and new, awesome linnorms. Outsiders are the true gem of this bestiary, expecially fiends. New fiend families are introduced to us, expanding previous single monsters (Kyton, Oni, Rakshasa) in whole families and introducing Asuras, Divs ad Demodands. Paladins have hands full! I needed them so much for my setting, expecially Divs wich seems tailor-made for a specific roles for my infernal legions. Completely different Outsiders are the guardians Kami. If you do not want to use oriental material, change their background in druidic or whatever spirit guardians is very easy. My only big remarks are about the powers of the Hekatonkheires titan, quite "meh" for a CR 24 monster in my humble opinion. Moreover, some monster type is strange. Why the yuki-no-ona is undead? That is a good chance lost for a middle-CR fey. Said this, good job! Keep this pace, and I will buy up to bestiary 20 :) The level of quality of the bestiary 2 is excellent. In previous incarnations of he game, the quality of Monster Manual II and MMIII dropped dramatically compared to MMI. With B2, this is not the case. The book is full monsters of every type, even fey. Fiends Fans, like myself, will be really pleased. This is my analysis section by section: Classes:
Spell Blight: this is a great addition for any campaign, both the gritty and the high magic ones. Well made!
Feats: Sadly, a lot of feats follow the usual “theme” of the book: apparently intriguing option, but very poorly executed. Most metamagic feats are not worthy, slotting too much. Burning spell is an example. Flaring Spells is ever more weak, if possible. The feat Antagonize is DISCONCERTING. It seems a bad homebrew feat, written by someone with little game experience. Sorcerous Bloodstrike is hilariously weak. Radiant Charge is pure comedy.
Wordcasting: my opinion is ambivalent on this. I praise Paizo for the innovation, but I fear the system is clunky. A more straightforward approach like the 3.5 invocation spells of the Warlock class could have been better. The implication for worldbuilding and roleplaying are enormous indeed. Spells: the spell session is very intriguing, and is a mixed bag.
On the flip side, there are spells like agonize: makes a highly debated spell stronger (but is iconic, so…) Daze, Mass: troublesome: Immune to daze creatures are really rare. Masterwork transformation hits hard once again the worldbuilding. Emotion spells like Miserable Pity become a laughable nonsense if creatures of pure evil like fiends are involved. Terrible Remorse, as many no save effects, is pure madness. Similar effects can be found in spells 4 levels higher. On the route of odd flavor,: Should Druids Summon an aberration (Summon Froghemoth)? Is make a target devoured by Fleshworm an inquisitor thing? Is a swift action cold blasting spell a clerical thing? The spell list assignation of some spell is disconcerting at best.
Overall, I feel Paizo fell short with the book. The quality of rules and flavor is schizophrenic from section to section, with few gems. The book seems rushed, and sometimes not only the power level, but the flavor of elements of the game is damaged. The book can be a decent addition to the library of a PF player or GM, but needs heavy errata. I strongly suggest a greater quality control of rules and errors. I seriously hope this is not the new standard for Paizo. |