Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Bestiary 4 (OGL)

137ben wrote:

FlySkyHigh wrote:

I have a small question, I picked up Mythic Adventures on release day (loving it BTW), but I felt like I wanted a lot more mythic monsters. I know this will have a few more, but what I'd really like to see is a mythic bestiary all by itself, hundreds of mythic creatures to unleash upon my unsuspecting party. Any chance we might see something like this in the future?

I believe that Legendary Games is working on a series of such books :)

mind boggling!

I wouldn't assume that each book will have "hundreds" of mythic creatures.

This is gonna be so flippin' GREAT!!! I cannot wait!

Me neither!

I hope the new dragons look kinda like this:

Peppermint Dragon from Deviantart

The guy who drew this has done a lot of artwork for pathfinder.

FlySkyHigh wrote:

137ben wrote:

FlySkyHigh wrote:

I have a small question, I picked up Mythic Adventures on release day (loving it BTW), but I felt like I wanted a lot more mythic monsters. I know this will have a few more, but what I'd really like to see is a mythic bestiary all by itself, hundreds of mythic creatures to unleash upon my unsuspecting party. Any chance we might see something like this in the future?

I believe that Legendary Games is working on a series of such books :)

mind boggling!

I wouldn't assume that each book will have "hundreds" of mythic creatures.

I wouldn't either. But that's part of why I hope paizo does one, since their beastiaries usually have 200 or so new monsters. And while I wouldn't necessarily be expecting 200 brand new monsters, it would be the slew of mythic monster rules (like the mythic troll regeneration and such) that would really excite me. Anyone can just make a monster mythic with the template, but its those interesting and wondrous mechanics that truly draw me in. I told one of my players about mythic monsters, and at first he just equated it to a better advanced template, it wasn't until I gave him the mythic troll as an example before he began to grow a healthy dose of (fear) respect for mythic monsters.

IIRC mythic monsters are to take around 10% of total in B4, so we're looking at 20-30.

Steven "Troll" O'Neal wrote:

James Jacobs wrote:

No quite probably about it. Giffs are 100% owned by Wizards of the Coast. Which is nice for me, since I don't have to play the "I think giffs are silly and have no interest in updating them for Pathfinder" card.

Giff are only silly if you've never seen what a hippo can do to a person. However that is neither here nor there.

Has nothing to do with it. I know a hippo is a devastating creature.

The silly part is that they dress like naval officers and wear medals and think they're people. That's more or less the exact opposite of what makes a hippo scary.

Now... if giffs were portrayed more like trolls or savage feral giants than they were tea-drinking ex-naval officers who argue over monocle sizes while wearing top hats and wielding snifters and canes... maybe I'd like them more.

This is going way back so I apologize, but I take offense good sir! One of my both most loved and despised creations was a monocle wearing, tea loving, magic-bonkers tome dragon. I think the key is to mix equal levels of absurdity with danger. Sure the dragon may appear a bit silly, sitting there with his monocle and his colossal teacup bigger than your house, but that doesn't mean he couldn't snuff you out like a candle for no reason other than you insulted his favorite tea.

On a related note: outer dragons? Im curious what that entails. I do so hope we'll see the return of ones such as mercurial and adamantine and time dragons. Maybe even force, prismatic, or tome dragons.

I wonder if the etheral filcher and marauder will be included?

If they do use them I hope they change there names, never liked the names myself.

Outer dragons could mean outer space, outer planes, or something completely different for all we know.

I have a feeling we get to know the Outer Dragons soon enough, cuz my guess is that in September (when blogs start to show artwork from the Bestiary 4) one of the first blogs will contain a dragon in it. But that is just a feeling I have :-p

There is suppose to be an outer dragon in the mythic themed campaign setting book (or at least a reference to one?)

IF the outer dragons are about space I really hope to see a Meteor/Comet based dragon among them, one that looks very rock-like and like a transformer turns into a dragon when it crashed down on a new planet in its rock/meteor form.

So what exactly is an Elohim? A new kind of celestial?

I wonder if the etheral filcher and marauder will be included?

j

Nope. They do not have many fans here at Paizo.

I hope the new dragons look kinda like this:

Peppermint Dragon from Deviantart

The guy who drew this has done a lot of artwork for pathfinder.

That's an incredible picture! However, its anatomical construction appears more drake than dragon--based primarily on the forelimb attachment to the wings.

Still, awesome artwork.

So what exactly is an Elohim? A new kind of celestial?

Well, it's from Pre-Judeo-Christian mythology, so I would guess yeah.

Cthulhu Fhtagn!

I was happy with this, and the inclusion of Mythic material in the book until I saw Cthulhu was going to be included. Huge bummer for lack of originality and dragged that tired, cliched thing into Pathfinder.

I'm considering skipping this one.

Including Cthulhu in Bestiary 4 is really no different than including Shoggoth in Bestiary 1

And btw, there aren't bigger cliched monsters as Goblins (love them, but they are freaking everywhere!) and Giant Spiders (every movie, game and bedroom has them)!

They were in bestiary 1, so you didn't buy that one as well I presume? ;-)

I was happy with this, and the inclusion of Mythic material in the book until I saw Cthulhu was going to be included. Huge bummer for lack of originality and dragged that tired, cliched thing into Pathfinder.

I'm considering skipping this one.

Wat.

Does not compute.

My fear was that a large portion would be given to the Mythos, rather than just one or two.

I think James Jacob confirmed that there would be only three Great Old Ones in the book. Although there are probably a few other random lower CR Lovecraftian things.

There only 3 Old Ones, 3 Empyreal Lords, 3 Kaiju, and 3 Demon Lords in this book. You will more then likely get reprints of some the Mythos creatures from past APs. But not getting a 250+ monster book because of 20 or less creatures you don't like doesn't make sense now if they if the book was called the "Mythos Bestiary" then I would understand.

I was happy with this, and the inclusion of Mythic material in the book until I saw Cthulhu was going to be included. Huge bummer for lack of originality and dragged that tired, cliched thing into Pathfinder.

I'm considering skipping this one.

Can I have your copy? :)

I really want to see how they do Grendel actually. Will they have him as a descendant of the first murderer (i.e. Cain) and that's why he's Mythic? Also, I wonder if he'll have the weakness to loud noises, much like in the movie.

I really want to see how they do Grendel actually. Will they have him as a descendant of the first murderer (i.e. Cain) and that's why he's Mythic? Also, I wonder if he'll have the weakness to loud noises, much like in the movie.

You should listen to this podcast then - they talk a bit about Grendel :)

One of the reason I like the ongoing releases of Bestiaries is that it complies many of the monsters from the AP issues. Rather than go through 70 some APs for that monster I thought was really cool (and I only read an AP I am going to run so I miss a lot of those issues) I have them together in the hard cover books. Of course when we bet to 10 of them I might have the same problem but at least they are in a limited number of books.

I hope we start getting Blog Previews for this soon. Also, I hope that there are some non-demon Demigods in this thing. Ahriman or a Horseman.

I hope we start getting Blog Previews for this soon. Also, I hope that there are some non-demon Demigods in this thing. Ahriman or a Horseman.

Then you should check out:

*Vanna White hands*

Mythic Realms, coming out next month! We're getting stats for at least Arazni (demigod and Aroden's former herald), Tar-Baphon the Whispering Tyrant, and Old-Mage Jatembe!

That is a nasty ability to give Grendel but cool none the less.

What did that say about Grendel and other monsters? I can't listen to it :-( Can somebody put on all the important stuff about bestiary 4 from the podcast on here? Please!? *puppy eyes*

Apparently Grendel has an ability that if it grapples you, it can rip off an arm. No built in stats for beating you with your own limbs though :)

Grendel also is mythic, although no range given on CR. It was also mentioned that we might get a lot more upper CR monsters than typical???

Oh yeah, and we get stag and giraffe in the Bestiary. I think that was all the new information regarding the bestiary.

I got to hear it on another of my computers (didn't even know that other computer could play it)

I'm still happy you put it here MMCjawa because some things were difficult for me to hear right without subtitles. So thanks!

I've heard something about Juggernouts too, they even told about some of their looks, but they aren't my thing :-p

A very cool question was about Bestiaries from the future after bestiary 4, or if this would be the last Bestiary.
The guy who answered the question said there were still TONS of monsters from real myth (leave that up to me) over there and also many they gonna make up themselves, so yes there probably is gonna be a Bestiary 5!! (lol bestiary 4 isn't even out yet and i'm already cheering a bestiary 5, monster addict in heart and soul...) :-p

Stag? I thought we already had the deer and elk? I loved the Giraffe humor tho!

And yes the giant on the cover is Grendel after all, I knew it from the start :-p

Oh...not Juggernauts...but colossi...which are way way bigger than normal constructs, and at least one of which turns into a fortress. Forgot about those

Yeah...they definitely hinted at future bestiaries. But they also said they would continue to mix things up here on out (citing the NPC guide for instance)

So there are actually Colossi and Juggernauts? Both big iron-like creatures?

F~&@ yeah giraffes!

Although, yeah, we kind of have elks already. I don't really think stags are different enough to warrant another Bestiary entry. Although, I myself did stat up a jaguar when we have the leopard so... maybe they are?

Especially since we don't have anteaters yet, rather see those than ordinairy stags.

Anyway i'm really curious now what real-life mythology critters made it in, most of the already known bestiary 4 creatures are very large and high cr creatures, D&D monsters, creatures that sound like they come from carrion crown and lovecraft horrors.

And I hope at least some critters come from Japanese mythology that weren't use in Jade's Regent, I really put all my money on Nekomata (a two tailed evil Bakeneko would do fine as well, but no good Bakeneko), Harionna and Kamaitachi.
Of course Bakekujira, Gashadokuro, Jinmenju, Raiju, Kijimuna and Rokurokubi are very much needed, but they are already in an AP so I rather see creatures from asian mythology that aren't used in any product yet before 3rd party products start to use them instead.

Wait, waitwaitwaitwaitwait.

Kitsune are in this one?

Possibly with a new piece of art?

Is it too late to rename this book Bestiary: Alexander Augunas Edition? Between having stats for Cthulhu (I squealed) and a new piece of kitsune artwork (I squealed LOUDER), the only way this book could be more "Alex Augunas" would be if kitsune were on the cover. (Although I understand why they can't be. Too much awesome on one cover and you might break Wayne Reynolds.)

We're finally actually getting Kaijuu! YES. and I assume they are Mythic? Cause Double yes!

New familiars.... I wonder if the Playtpus from Animal Archive is being included? If not I really wanna see a red panda familiar. They're the cutest animals ever.

So...I'm not sold on this one yet. Partly, that is just because it is a monster book: I usually end up being more interested in a monster's crunch, and I'm not big on the artwork. As a result, I end up viewing monster information primarily through the pfsrd, so I have all the monsters in one place.
I am, however, purchasing Legendary Games' Mythic Monster series. Why?
Well, there aren't very many mythic monsters in the game yet, and if Legendary Games keeps their current pace up, then pretty soon they will have a majority of published mythic monsters. Obviously, we need mythic monsters to run a mythic game. And we are especially lacking in low-level mythic monsters, which Legendary Games seems to be trying to correct.

There is also a severe shortage of CR 20+ monsters. Even by level 17, a CR 20 monster isn't a huge challenge for my players. I'm also looking to get books with a lot more CR 21+ monsters.

Finally, there are almost no published monsters for PF with a Challenge Rating above 30. Back in the 3.0/3.5 days, a large portion of campaigns that went into epic levels would stop around ~level 25-26, so CR 31+ monsters weren't used very much. But now, add on 10 mythic tiers, and a CR 31 monster is already within reach by level 21. And almost all CR 31+ monsters so far have been in the Tome of Horror Complete, which didn't have that many of them (although, of course, we probably don't need as many CR 31+ monsters as CR 21-30).

Because of this, the monster books I will purchase are those that are either
a)contain a large number of CR 20-30 monsters
b)contain a large number of mythic monsters, particularly very low-level or very high level mythic monsters, or
c)contain any (even just one or two) CR 31+ monsters.
Note that criteria (c) by itself is not enough for me to immediately purchase it. Criteria (a) or (b) are.

For this book, I'm sorta disappointed with what I've heard. It sounds like there will be a few CR 20+ monsters, but not that many, and probably a lot of mid-level monsters to dilute things. I haven't heard anything about low-level mythic monsters, and it doesn't sound like there will be all that many mythic monsters at all. I don't really want to by a book with 200ish mid-level monsters when I already have far more than I could ever use, just to get a couple high level monsters.

Maybe when the book comes out, and I see the entries in the pfsrd/prd, then I'll change my mind. But right now, it looks like I'll pass on this. I'll keep buying Legendary Games' mythic monsters series, and maybe if Paizo puts out a monster book that really grabs me, I'll get it. But I don't think this is that book.

So...I'm not sold on this one yet. Partly, that is just because it is a monster book: I usually end up being more interested in a monster's crunch, and I'm not big on the artwork. As a result, I end up viewing monster information primarily through the pfsrd, so I have all the monsters in one place.

I am, however, purchasing Legendary Games' Mythic Monster series. Why?
Well, there aren't very many mythic monsters in the game yet, and if Legendary Games keeps their current pace up, then pretty soon they will have a majority of published mythic monsters. Obviously, we need mythic monsters to run a mythic game. And we are especially lacking in low-level mythic monsters, which Legendary Games seems to be trying to correct.

There is also a severe shortage of CR 20+ monsters. Even by level 17, a CR 20 monster isn't a huge challenge for my players. I'm also looking to get books with a lot more CR 21+ monsters.

Finally, there are almost no published monsters for PF with a Challenge Rating above 30. Back in the 3.0/3.5 days, a large portion of campaigns that went into epic levels would stop around ~level 25-26, so CR 31+ monsters weren't used very much. But now, add on 10 mythic tiers, and a CR 31 monster is already within reach by level 21. And almost all CR 31+ monsters so far have been in the Tome of Horror Complete, which didn't have that many of them (although, of course, we probably don't need as many CR 31+ monsters as CR 21-30).

Because of this, the monster books I will purchase are those that are either
a)contain a large number of CR 20-30 monsters
b)contain a large number of mythic monsters, particularly very low-level or very high level mythic monsters, or
c)contain any (even just one or two) CR 31+ monsters.
Note that criteria (c) by itself is not enough for me to immediately purchase it. Criteria (a) or (b) are.

For this book, I'm sorta disappointed with what I've heard. It sounds like there will be a few CR 20+ monsters, but not that many, and probably a lot of mid-level...

As far as I know, there are no official CR 31+ monsters in PF, nor are any planned, as they are outside the scope of what Paizo are doing concerning Golarion, Mythic, etc.

Also, not sure if you were aware, but every 2 mythic tiers equals +1 CR. So 10 tiers equals +5 CR.

It sounds like there will be a few CR 20+ monsters, but not that many

Most of the monsters so far reveiled are actually high cr creatures, i'm starting to think there are actually few lower cr creatures in this one, something that would leave me disappointed. :-p

BUT we only know about 40 of the monsters out of a total of 250/300... so its pretty much too early to say that.

what? it isn´t october yet?
jeeezzzzz i´ve get unfrozen earlier

So...I'm not sold on this one yet. Partly, that is just because it is a monster book: I usually end up being more interested in a monster's crunch, and I'm not big on the artwork. As a result, I end up viewing monster information primarily through the pfsrd, so I have all the monsters in one place.

I am, however, purchasing Legendary Games' Mythic Monster series. Why?
Well, there aren't very many mythic monsters in the game yet, and if Legendary Games keeps their current pace up, then pretty soon they will have a majority of published mythic monsters. Obviously, we need mythic monsters to run a mythic game. And we are especially lacking in low-level mythic monsters, which Legendary Games seems to be trying to correct.

There is also a severe shortage of CR 20+ monsters. Even by level 17, a CR 20 monster isn't a huge challenge for my players. I'm also looking to get books with a lot more CR 21+ monsters.

Finally, there are almost no published monsters for PF with a Challenge Rating above 30. Back in the 3.0/3.5 days, a large portion of campaigns that went into epic levels would stop around ~level 25-26, so CR 31+ monsters weren't used very much. But now, add on 10 mythic tiers, and a CR 31 monster is already within reach by level 21. And almost all CR 31+ monsters so far have been in the Tome of Horror Complete, which didn't have that many of them (although, of course, we probably don't need as many CR 31+ monsters as CR 21-30).

Because of this, the monster books I will purchase are those that are either
a)contain a large number of CR 20-30 monsters
b)contain a large number of mythic monsters, particularly very low-level or very high level mythic monsters, or
c)contain any (even just one or two) CR 31+ monsters.
Note that criteria (c) by itself is not enough for me to immediately purchase it. Criteria (a) or (b) are.

For this book, I'm sorta disappointed with what I've heard. It sounds like there will be a few CR 20+ monsters, but not that many, and probably a lot of mid-level...

Yeah according to JJ and The Bullman, this bestiary will have many more high CR threats (including some 21+ threats like demon lords and Great Old Ones) than in previous bestiaries, and a lot of original mythic monsters of all levels, not just the higher ones. As far as I know, I believe they said that Kaiju are also 20+ threats. Not to mention that Colossi sound amazing (high level massive transforming golems). One of them sounds like Alexander/Giant of Babil from Final Fantasy IV. Which, to me, a giant tower golem sounds awesome.

I think (don't quote me) someone mentioned tooth fairies as being a low level mythic creature. So yeah, it looks like they have A and B covered for you.

Yeah according to JJ and The Bullman, this bestiary will have many more high CR threats (including some 21+ threats like demon lords and Great Old Ones) than in previous bestiaries, and a lot of original mythic monsters of all levels, not just the higher ones. As far as I know, I believe they said that Kaiju are also 20+ threats. Not to mention that Colossi sound amazing (high level massive transforming golems). One of them sounds like Alexander/Giant of Babil from Final Fantasy IV. Which, to me, a giant tower golem sounds awesome.

I think (don't quote me) someone mentioned tooth fairies as being a low level mythic creature. So yeah, it looks like they have A and B covered for you.

Omg I listened to the podcast and heard the part about the transforming Colossi, but it didn't even cross my MIND that it does indeed sound like Alexander/Giant of Babil. Holy $**! That's awesome.

Yeah. I'm already running a game loosely using the Moon from FF4 as a point of reference, so this made me a happy camper.

As far as I know, there are no official CR 31+ monsters in PF, nor are any planned, as they are outside the scope of what Paizo are doing concerning Golarion, Mythic, etc.

Also, not sure if you were aware, but every 2 mythic tiers equals +1 CR. So 10 tiers equals +5 CR.

Official CR 31+ monsters have appeared in Tome of Horrors Complete (and I think in ToH 4 as well, though I haven't gotten my copy yet so I'm not sure), as well as in several planned releases that have been talked about in other threads (see the "what is secret project X" thread, for example).

And yes, I know how the mythic rules work--I don't know why you would assume I didn't.

Yeah according to JJ and The Bullman, this bestiary will have many more high CR threats (including some 21+ threats like demon lords and Great Old Ones) than in previous bestiaries, and a lot of original mythic monsters of all levels, not just the higher ones. As far as I know, I believe they said that Kaiju are also 20+ threats. Not to mention that Colossi sound amazing (high level massive transforming golems). One of them sounds like Alexander/Giant of Babil from Final Fantasy IV. Which, to me, a giant tower golem sounds awesome.

I think (don't quote me) someone mentioned tooth fairies as being a low level mythic creature. So yeah, it looks like they have A and B covered for you.

Well that's definitely encouraging:) I'm still going to wait to see what monsters are in it before getting it, but if it is like what you just described, there is now a pretty good chance of me getting it.