Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary (OGL)

Are we going to get stats for Aquatic Elves. Ideally they should have been in Elves of Golarion but that was OGL not PRPG so if that book had provided stats they would have been 3.5. I am pretty sure that Aquatic Elves do not appear in the Bestiary but I still hope we can see game mechanics for them soon.

I'm jonesing for this book so bad...

Does anybody else think Goblins as PCs are a bit on the broken side now? +4 to Dex and a +4 size bonus to Stealth and a +4 racial bonus to Stealth? A 1st level Goblin Rogue with a 19 Dex (15 base +4) and a net +16 Stealth check (1 rank +3 class +4 Dex +4 racial +4 size)? A +19 if he or she takes Skill Focus (Stealth)? A 3.5 Goblin only had a +2 to Dex and a +4 racial to Move Silently alone - still had the +4 size bonus to Hide, alright, but not a racial bonus on top of that. Halflings don't get to carry over their 3.5 racial bonus to Move Silently as a racial bonus to Stealth, so why should Goblins?

Goblins aren't meant to be one of the core PC races really, so not as much thought went in to making sure they're totally "balanced" as PC races despite the fact that we present the rules for doing so. We do this for MANY of the "close to human" races in the Bestiary, as much as to help GMs who are statting up NPCs as a nod to players who enjoy plaing exotic or unusual PC races.

That said... without the high Dex modifier, the goblin was very obviously less powerful than a human. We decided to up its Dex and perhaps edge it into the slightly overpowered side of things rather than on the obviously underpowered side of things, and felt comfortable doing so because it's not a core race and thus GMs will be able to decide for themselves if they want goblin PCs or not.

Do we have a list of what monsters are in this yet???

I am specifically very interested to know if Sauhagan are in!!!! Are they OGL monsters?

Thanks!

Sahuagin are in the Bestiary. A partial list of all the monsters appears in the Bonus Bestairy... posting the full list might be a good idea for a blog post, though...

Sahuagin are in the Bestiary. A partial list of all the monsters appears in the Bonus Bestairy... posting the full list might be a good idea for a blog post, though...

With lost of art to accompany it?

Sahuagin are in the Bestiary. A partial list of all the monsters appears in the Bonus Bestairy... posting the full list might be a good idea for a blog post, though...

Fantastic! I'm going to be updating and revamping the old First Edition Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh trilogy to Pathfinder RPG rules and Sahuagin are pretty important later on.

Can't wait to get the Bestairy!

Paizo

Do you guys have a release date yet for this one??

Planning on doing a pre-order but I'd like to know the release date first

(probably said already but damn that is alott of pages to go through :))

Also curious on how much the pdf will run for this one?

thanks!!

RM

Fantastic! I'm going to be updating and revamping the old First Edition Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh trilogy to Pathfinder RPG rules and Sahuagin are pretty important later on.

Can't wait to get the Bestairy!

I love the Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh! Make your revision available somewhere, please. ;)

Really hoping for the Tarrasque to be good, especially the art as I think the big critter got kinda short changed by its artwork in the 3.0/3.5 Monster Manuals (though it did get that awesome full page piece in the DMG2 which did it justice). Always been one of my favourite creatures, even though I've never actually gotten to use it in a game (yet).

Don't suppose you'd be willing to let us know who did the art for it would you?

Really hoping for the Tarrasque to be good, especially the art as I think the big critter got kinda short changed by its artwork in the 3.0/3.5 Monster Manuals (though it did get that awesome full page piece in the DMG2 which did it justice). Always been one of my favourite creatures, even though I've never actually gotten to use it in a game (yet).

Don't suppose you'd be willing to let us know who did the art for it would you?

I don't remember who did the art, but it's pretty good! It's not THAT different from 3.5, but he's a bit leaner looking and faster looking and IIRC doesn't have as big of a chin...

Paizo

Do you guys have a release date yet for this one??

Planning on doing a pre-order but I'd like to know the release date first

(probably said already but damn that is alott of pages to go through :))

Also curious on how much the pdf will run for this one?

thanks!!

RM

We're hoping for a release date of October, but depending on how fast it goes over the ocean on the boat and how long it takes to get through customs and all that... it could release in September, I suppose. When it gets into the USA we'll know for sure.

I don't think we've announced any PDF pricing for it yet.

I don't remember who did the art, but it's pretty good! It's not THAT different from 3.5, but he's a bit leaner looking and faster looking and IIRC doesn't have as big of a chin...

All of which were things I didn't like about the 3.5 art for him, so that all sounds good to me!

James Jacobs wrote:

I don't remember who did the art, but it's pretty good! It's not THAT different from 3.5, but he's a bit leaner looking and faster looking and IIRC doesn't have as big of a chin...

All of which were things I didn't like about the 3.5 art for him, so that all sounds good to me!

Thanks James

I guess I'll hold off for now on my pre-order.

thanks again for the info

RM

There are mentions on the SRD page about an affordable PDF - affordable in the way the PDF of the core rulebook was affordable at $10 - of the Bestiary. Is there any news about this?

I was hoping that someone could shed some light on a couple of questions I had...

1. Is the titan in the book?

2. I dont suppose some light could be shed on how to advance monsters i.e. more hit dice ala 3.5 (maybe without increasing in size, which was annoying alot of the time..), etc?

Thanks for any response! :)

I was hoping that someone could shed some light on a couple of questions I had...

1. Is the titan in the book?

2. I dont suppose some light could be shed on how to advance monsters i.e. more hit dice ala 3.5 (maybe without increasing in size, which was annoying alot of the time..), etc?

Thanks for any response! :)

I do not see Titan in the list that is included in the Bonus Bestiary.

As to the second one I am still to new....

Sean

Not sure if this has been listed elsewhere so sorry if this is redundant.

Goblin's attack with melee is incorrect.
Should be Short sword +2(1d4/19-20) not +1.

Must have missed the size bonus or BAB when calculating.

It's taking so long. Arrrrgh never have you!

1. Is the titan in the book?

Nope; the titan is not in the Bestiary. It's a great contender for when we do a Bestiary II though!

2. I dont suppose some light could be shed on how to advance monsters i.e. more hit dice ala 3.5 (maybe without increasing in size, which was annoying alot of the time..), etc?

There's a huge section on multiple methods of advancing monsters in the Bestiary appendix, including rules and advice on doing so by increasing their Hit Dice. We took out the advancement lines on the monster stat blocks precisely because it WAS annoying to lock in size increases to happen at specific HD increases. The Bestiary will let the GM advance monsters however he wants.

Starsunder wrote:

1. Is the titan in the book?

Nope; the titan is not in the Bestiary. It's a great contender for when we do a Bestiary II though!

Starsunder wrote:

2. I dont suppose some light could be shed on how to advance monsters i.e. more hit dice ala 3.5 (maybe without increasing in size, which was annoying alot of the time..), etc?

There's a huge section on multiple methods of advancing monsters in the Bestiary appendix, including rules and advice on doing so by increasing their Hit Dice. We took out the advancement lines on the monster stat blocks precisely because it WAS annoying to lock in size increases to happen at specific HD increases. The Bestiary will let the GM advance monsters however he wants.

Awesome news on the advancing rules! Greatly looking forward to that, as advancing monsters (tinkering with them in general) is something that I tend to do a lot of.

Shame about the titan, although being in the Bestiary II is not too shabby ;)

Question on the Skeleton/Zombie (and probably other templates like them).

It says that the base creature loses all class HD and most special abilities (except for any extraordinary special qualities that improve its melee or ranged attacks).

Does this mean that if (for example) a 15th level fighter is made into a Skeleton/Zombie, they would retain the fighter's Weapon Training abilities? Or a ranger's favored enemy/favored terrain?

Question on the Skeleton/Zombie (and probably other templates like them).

It says that the base creature loses all class HD and most special abilities (except for any extraordinary special qualities that improve its melee or ranged attacks).

Does this mean that if (for example) a 15th level fighter is made into a Skeleton/Zombie, they would retain the fighter's Weapon Training abilities? Or a ranger's favored enemy/favored terrain?

Yeah; a 15th-level ANYTHING human turned into a skeleton or zombie loses all of his abilities; there's no difference between a skeleton or zombie made from a 1st level human commoner and a 20th-level human wizard. There are (or will be) other templates that allow for 20th level skeletons.

Thanks, James! That's what I thought, but I wasn't quite sure if the extraordinary abilities meant racial or class...

Has the PDF price already been announced? If not, any idea when it will be?

Has the PDF price already been announced? If not, any idea when it will be?

It hasn't been announced yet. I would assume we'll announce it soon... but I can't say for sure when.

I dont know if this can be answered...but Ill ask anyways.

Is the Solar in the book? I know it's on the list but you never know...and if it IS in the book, has it been beefed up some? As you may remember, both the Pit Fiend and the Balor got substantial upgrades going from 3.0 to 3.5, but for some reason the Solar wasnt changed at all. Now the Solar has less STR, DEX, CON, INT, WIS, and CHA than both of them! What is this, crazy town!? I understand that it gets full clerical spellcasting abilities, but still...something is clearly not right. The Solar has traditionally been one of the "there are some things you mess with, but this isn't one of them", moreso than the Balor or Pit Fiend.

Anyways, sorry for the rant lol. Greatly looking forward to the book! :)

Oh, and for the love of all things D&D, please let the art for it be better than it was in 3.5 MM...that was truly atrocious.

I dont know if this can be answered...but Ill ask anyways.

Is the Solar in the book?

I didn't see it listed in the Bonus Bestiary.

Unofficial answer!

Sean

Starsunder wrote:

I dont know if this can be answered...but Ill ask anyways.

Is the Solar in the book?

I didn't see it listed in the Bonus Bestiary.

Unofficial answer!

Sean

Im pretty sure its listed under "Angel"

thenorthman wrote:

Starsunder wrote:

I dont know if this can be answered...but Ill ask anyways.

Is the Solar in the book?

I didn't see it listed in the Bonus Bestiary.

Unofficial answer!

Sean

Im pretty sure its listed under "Angel"

You are correct. Sorry about that. I am fairly new to DND stuff, so do not know all the "monsters" by heart. Or rather there potential variation in names.

Sean

Starsunder wrote:

thenorthman wrote:

Starsunder wrote:

I dont know if this can be answered...but Ill ask anyways.

Is the Solar in the book?

I didn't see it listed in the Bonus Bestiary.

Unofficial answer!

Sean

Im pretty sure its listed under "Angel"

You are correct. Sorry about that. I am fairly new to DND stuff, so do not know all the "monsters" by heart. Or rather there potential variation in names.

Sean

Hey man np :)

It is coming out in October, but yay.........FANGASM!

Just preordered mine! The preview convinced me within minutes :)

Woot!!

D

Hey Vic Wertz or Lisa,

If we assume that anything can happen with Customs.. Would you say early October, or Mid to late October?

Is this ALL creatures from from the 3.5 Monster Manual? (with a new take on them of course) or will we see others?

Is this ALL creatures from from the 3.5 Monster Manual? (with a new take on them of course) or will we see others?

No.

Though most of the creatures are from the 3.5 MM/SRD, a few are from other OGL (open gaming license) sources, such as the Tome of Horrors (not Tomb). A not-quite comprehensive list can be found on the inside cover of the Bonus Bestiary, available for free in pdf Here.

Is this still slated for an October release?

Is this still slated for an October release?

We got our first bound copies today here at the office, so I would say that bodes well for an October release, but anything can happen in-transit from China.

-Lisa

Another reason why you should print in Europe ! In the event of any trouble, Black Ops Paizo Europe Team will intercept the shipment and dispatch* it to the US immediately.**

* - we will add one (1) KaeYoss as a bonus.

** - after we grab our copies that is.

Another reason why you should print in Europe ! In the event of any trouble, Black Ops Paizo Europe Team will intercept the shipment and dispatch* it to the US immediately.**

* - we will add one (1) KaeYoss as a bonus.

** - after we grab our copies that is.

#2

I need this, NOW!

Huh. This is weird. My FLGS notified me the bestiary may be available as early as next week.

Huh. This is weird. My FLGS notified me the bestiary may be available as early as next week.

They were wrong. They must be looking at the original release date, before it got pushed back.

joela wrote:

Huh. This is weird. My FLGS notified me the bestiary may be available as early as next week.

They were wrong. They must be looking at the original release date, before it got pushed back.

I'll let them know so they can notify the distributor.

I am pretty sure of the answer, but all these questions about PDF price have me unsure, subscribers get the PDF for free like we did for the core book, right?

I am pretty sure of the answer, but all these questions about PDF price have me unsure, subscribers get the PDF for free like we did for the core book, right?

If you are a Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber, you get the PDF for free!

Dalvyn wrote:

Has the PDF price already been announced? If not, any idea when it will be?

It hasn't been announced yet. I would assume we'll announce it soon... but I can't say for sure when.

Oh yeah it was. I think it was somewhere in this thread, but I couldn't find it. Could you remind us? I'm pretty sure it was $19.99...

Goblins aren't meant to be one of the core PC races really, so not as much thought went in to making sure they're totally "balanced" as PC races despite the fact that we present the rules for doing so. We do this for MANY of the "close to human" races in the Bestiary, as much as to help GMs who are statting up NPCs as a nod to players who enjoy plaing exotic or unusual PC races.

That said... without the high Dex modifier, the goblin was very obviously less powerful than a human. We decided to up its Dex and perhaps edge it into the slightly overpowered side of things rather than on the obviously underpowered side of things, and felt comfortable doing so because it's not a core race and thus GMs will be able to decide for themselves if they want goblin PCs or not.

It would be nice to get a sense of how much Paizo has worked/re-worked monster races for Pathfinder. I'm proposing to my group a PC gnoll. Will we be seeing gnolls as playable characters? (I.e., without the LA +1?)

I had proposed simply removing the 2d8 and all level-based adjustments. Members of the group think that the +4, +2, -2, -2 stat block is unbalanced, as is the +1 Natural Armor. I.e., drop the +4 to a +2 and removed one of the -2s, as well as removed the natural armor. I think that might unjustly nerf the gnoll beyond other races.

So, I'd really like to know whether Paizo has weighed in on the gnoll.

It would be nice to get a sense of how much Paizo has worked/re-worked monster races for Pathfinder. I'm proposing to my group a PC gnoll. Will we be seeing gnolls as playable characters? (I.e., without the LA +1?)

Full detailes will be revealed in less than a month when the Bestiary's out...

...but as a preview... gnolls probably don't really make good PCs. They're in the same category as bugbears and lizardfolk... they have racial hit dice and as such are awkward when it comes to pairing up with the core classes. As far as I can remember, the gnoll is relatively unchanged from its SRD incarnation as a result.

Talking about the hardcover book, a friend of mine just traded with me my own book for the one he brought back from GenCon, signed by many good people of Paizo (some of the signatures i cannot identify, i need to boost my Decipher skill), as well as a cool picture...
Thanks a lot to him and you guys ! :)