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Pathfinder Tales: Stalking the Beast

4.10/5 (based on 17 ratings)
Pathfinder Tales: Stalking the Beast
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Out for Blood

When a mysterious monster carves a path of destruction across the southern River Kingdoms, desperate townsfolk look to the famed elven ranger Elyana and her half-orc companion Drelm for salvation. For Drelm, however, the mission is about more than simple justice, as without a great victory proving his worth, a prejudiced populace will never allow him to marry the human woman he loves. Together with a fresh band of allies, including the mysterious gunslinger Lisette, the heroes must set off into the wilderness, hunting a terrifying beast that will test their abilities—and their friendships—to the breaking point and beyond.

From acclaimed author Howard Andrew Jones comes a new adventure of love, death, and unnatural creatures, set in the award-winning world of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.

400-page mass market paperback
ISBN–13: 978-1-60125-572-3
ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-573-0

Stalking the Beast is also available as a digital edition on the following sites:

Stalking the Beast is sanctioned for use in Pathfinder Society Organized Play. Its Chronicle sheet and additional rules are a free download (359 KB zip/PDF).

Note: As a memorial to Howard Andrew Jones, who passed away in January, all proceeds from this title through February 2025 will be donated to his family via the following gofundme campaign: https://www.gofundme.com/f/a-call-to-help-howard-andrew-jones-and-his-family. We miss you, Howard.

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Average product rating:

4.10/5 (based on 17 ratings)

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Decent story, interesting read

3/5 —

I was very mixed on what to rate this book. The characters that Jones chose to follow were WAY cool. They each felt unique, they each felt interesting, and they weren't your stereotypical fantasy cliches. They were fun, original, and carried the story.

It's what happens in the story that I struggle with. A LOT of people die, both in the adventuring party and in the story world. I mean, a LOT of people, total body count probably in the high hundreds, if not hitting a thousand, in a place in the world that isn't exactly highly populated. What they accomplished should have made them nearly legendary - made everyone who participated in the hunt legendary - and yet the book just sort of ends with them getting a 500gp reward which, granted, the author takes some liberties with and has 500gp be a very significant amount of money, but at the same time... this was such a wildly significant task they accomplished. Any of these characters should be a legend in the River Kingdoms, and yet they just sort of retire to anonymity I guess?

I mean, it's fine that the author wants to have death not hold too much significance and I respect his right to change some mechanics (or have some classes do normally impossible things), because hey, it's a story and he's the DM. That's perfectly cool. It really fleshed things out and added a lot in most cases!

However, it ends up feeling like the adventurers more or less just bungle their way through the campaign, dying left and right and not really accomplishing much. It conveys the idea that the main characters could have gone on the adventure alone and saved everyone else the time and pointlessness of all these other introductions.

Always a pleasure

3/5 —

Howard Andrew Jones, one of the strongest writers in the Pathfinder stable, returns with a sequel to his first book with Pathfinder, this one is nearly as good, but not quite.

Elyana and half-orc Drelm are on the track of a huge invisible monster that is ravaging the River Kingdoms. Can they and their motley crew find and destroy it, before it destroys them?

Jones' best asset is his construction in my opinion. This book, like all his others, is built very well. Jones is adroit at hitting his marks, his pacing is superb - you barely notice it - and he's syncs the internal journeys his characters take with what's happening outside.

Elyana's thoughts take more of a backseat in this one - it's really more Drelm's book, plus an intriguing new character, a gun-slinger named Lisette. While I missed Elyana's flinty perspective, the other characters more than make up for it and Jones builds up a nice and varied party around her.

There's certainly no shortage of action, though the plot and motivation behind it is a little on the slight side.

This is just a quibble though as in Jones' hands, you know you're always in for a good time.

A good book!

5/5 —

I don’t normally write reviews, a pattern I’m trying to break. With Stalking the Best we get an enjoyable read of a wide (but rapidly dwindling) cast.
Back are Elyana and Drelm, the unusual pairing from the end of Plauge of Shadows. One nice thing about them is they have their own lives, and are not even touched by the ‘will they/won’t they’ tension seen so often in such pairings. Both are professional, and friends.
The villians, and their plots are equally varied. People familiar with the world will quickly suspect the <redacted> when they are first seen, but <redacted>’s plans are much more layered.
The use of rarer classes actually works in the broader context of the River Kingdoms. While the LBEG and Lisette are not as common as a fighter or a wizard, they work in the context of the ‘everything goes’ nature of the Kingdoms, much better than, say, a ninja in Taldor. Also the logistics of a gun user are nicely referenced, as well as the fact that the story takes place largely away from resupply. I will admit, it would be entertaining to see, for example, someone write the logistics of a archer fighter or ranger who blows through 4+ arrows a round.
Game mechanics are visible at times, which works in the context of a RPG novel. Some surprisingly mundane methods are used to support the mechanics, others take advantage of rules people forget. (Without spoiling to much, when your SLAs don’t work, your spells still might.)
The cast of characters, while focusing on three, is rather large, and you get attached to a few before they die horribly. This is an ensemble piece, with some surprisingly powerful moments (Drelm’s final fate is clearly a surprise to everyone, including him.)

Definitely worth the wait!

5/5 —

So I've been looking forward to this book since it was announced a few months ago, and I picked it up today at the local bookstore. I could not put it down, and just finished it, so I came here to share my views!

-Good characters! Glad to see Elyana and Drelm back, as I really enjoyed Plague of Shadows. I was also glad that all of the POV characters have strengths and weakness that drive their motives throughout the novel, and make the story better.

-The story was excellent, and the various races and classes of the Pathfinder RPG are well represented, and to me, in a way that makes sense. All the confusion over Lisette and her "wands" was rather hilarious, and helps show just how rare gunslingers are.

-Since this is a non-spoiler sort of thing, I will finish off with the fact that this book is a keeper and will be read again, and I will be convincing my players to read it as well.

If you liked Plague of Shadows....

5/5 —

...Then you will Love this one!

I REALLY enjoyed this book. It got my attention right from the start, and kept me turning pages till the end. I wish I could say that for some of the other PF Tales books, which turned out to be good, but just took a hundred pages or so to really get me invested. (Still trying to finish the "Queen of Thorns"... ugh, and I LIKE Radovan and Jegare)

I like the Gunslinger class, so seeing it in action was fun. Eagerly awaiting more from this author... hopefully another sequel.

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Contributor

D.M.T., thanks for letting me know you enjoyed it! David, many thanks for posting the review!
Contributor
2 people marked this as a favorite.

If I were to write some more books featuring the survivors of this one, who would you be most interested in following? There were two primary groups you could follow, and I'm curious to see which one readers would want to see more of.

(If you're going to name names I suppose it would be best to conceal them with "spoilers" tags because a LOT of characters in this one get picked off...)
Sovereign Court RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8

My vote:

Spoiler:
Demid, I'd like some more Brevoy fiction. And Cyrelle. I can't play a packlord, may as well read about them. :-)

Hey Howard I just started reading this this past weekend and spent 2 hours reading it outloud to my fiancee while we were driving back from a vacation sunday night. It was her first pathfinder tales book and I think she really enjoyed it. After chapter 4 my voice gave out and we had to stop though...and as much as I want to continue I feel it would be unfair to continue with out her. She has the flu right now so there might be more reading tonight after I get off work at 11...
Contributor
Matthew Morris wrote:

My vote:

** spoiler omitted **

Thanks for the info, Matthew! Duly noted.

Contributor
mathpro18 wrote:
Hey Howard I just started reading this this past weekend and spent 2 hours reading it outloud to my fiancee while we were driving back from a vacation sunday night. It was her first pathfinder tales book and I think she really enjoyed it. After chapter 4 my voice gave out and we had to stop though...and as much as I want to continue I feel it would be unfair to continue with out her. She has the flu right now so there might be more reading tonight after I get off work at 11...

Now that's dedication!

You know, one of the last things I try to do before I ship off a manuscript is read the whole thing out loud to myself, because that's a good way for certain kinds of errors to jump out. Although I usually have to whisper so my voice doesn't give out!

Glad you're both enjoying it, and I hope she feels better soon.

best,
Howard

I've GOT the book, I just haven't had a chance to read it yet. :( I'm eagerly anticipating this one. Whether he knows it or not, I made a promise to Richard Pett to finish and review his book (Crooked) before I start any others. Dear Wife may end up reading my physical copy before I do!

I read aloud as well as silently depending on the situation. When I'm reading on my walk home from work, I read aloud (quietly). I get funny looks, but I live in a medium size city, so we have lots of crazy people on the streets.

If I'm reading at home, I'm probably in bed, so I read silently to avoid waking Dear Wife.

-Aaron
Contributor

I know it and appreciate it Aaron, I have all the hard copies at home right now, fermenting them a little and whispering to them so they can spread the word, they're just about to leave the nest like bloated cuckoos.

Rich
Howard Andrew Jones wrote:

If I were to write some more books featuring the survivors of this one, who would you be most interested in following? There were two primary groups you could follow, and I'm curious to see which one readers would want to see more of.

(If you're going to name names I suppose it would be best to conceal them with "spoilers" tags because a LOT of characters in this one get picked off...)

Well...

Spoiler:
Drelm and Lisette were my favorites in the book, but it seems like they've sorta settled down (although Lisette has some unfinished history that could cause trouble for her).

It would be interesting to see what Melias ends up doing with herself. No family left, but she got a nice pile of coin, and a wand that shoots acid.
Contributor

Thanks for letting me know, Mechalibur.

Spoiler:
I'm actually pitching something completely unrelated to any of these characters, but from this book it's Lisette who interests me the most going forward. I could see her in a variety of further adventures.
Grand Lodge

Hi Howard!

Wanted to mention that I LOVED your book and have been reading your Pathfinder back catalog.

One of the main reasons I loved the book was because of all the characters. Every one of them I really liked. Lisette is the star of the book for me (I've been looking for a suitable mini to play a character like her now!) but Elyana comes a close second. Heck I even like the half-orc.

Looking forward to whatever you write next. Incidentally I liked your Abir & Dasim story in Return of the Sword and have been meaning to get to more of your work. Glad to see I crossed paths with more of your writing in the Pathfinder world!

um, what does this mean:

Howard wrote:
If I were to write some more books featuring the survivors of this one.

Does that mean that I may never get to read about Lisette or Elyanna again!?!?! Inconceivable!

Contributor

Thanks for your kind note! I'm really glad that you're enjoying my characters.

I think you'll definitely be seeing both of those ladies once more, although you're likely to see Lisette much sooner. I have in mind a couple of short stories to follow up on "Bells for the Dead" for the Paizo web fiction section, but I'm heads down over the opening book I'm drafting for a new St. Martin's series, and until I finish the rough draft of that I'm staying clear of other projects. (I hope to have the rough done by mid January.)

To my mind, Lisette is ideally suited for a low magic area, or some low magic adventures, and I could see myself writing a series of stories or short novels where she takes on various assignments and then figures out how to get through them when her carefully laid plans go awry. Sort of like heist novels, but with a bounty hunter. My friend C.L. Werner did some great work about an amoral bounty hunter named Brunner, for Warhammer -- any Lisette books would would have a different feel from these, though. (I think Brunner is one of the best sword-and-sorcery creations in modern times, including both regular fiction and tie-in fiction.)

But the next books I pitched to Paizo to write feature new characters in a different part of the world. I'm quite excited about them and I'm eagerly awaiting word from James. If I had THAT much fun just drafting the outlines, I think I'll have even more fun writing them, which usually translates to readers having fun as well.
Dark Archive

is there a chronicle sheet for this? I picked up the book as research for my priest of razmir character, figured if there was a boon I'd apply it to him. can't find one anywhere?
Liberty's Edge

Major spoilers:

Enjoyed this one. The "Beast" isn't the behemonth on the cover, although you can be excused for thinking that; even the characters in the book think that for a substantial faction of the book. But, of course, the Beast is really the Church of Razmir....

I'd love to see more of both Elyanna and Lisette in the future. Drelm seems to have settled down, and it would be nice if he was actually able to enjoy some peace for a while, which main characters of books never get.

Contributor

Hey, I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for helping get the word out. Any chance I can get you to do a spoiler-free write-up on the review page? It only has severn write-ups right now.

So I'm rereading this book and I notice Lissete a song about a certain "hero" and his halfling brother. That was awesome to see.
Managing Editor
havoc xiii wrote:
So I'm rereading this book and I notice Lissete a song about a certain "hero" and his halfling brother. That was awesome to see.

I was wondering how many people noticed that particular Easter egg. :) Glad you enjoyed it!

Sovereign Court
James Sutter wrote:
havoc xiii wrote:
So I'm rereading this book and I notice Lissete a song about a certain "hero" and his halfling brother. That was awesome to see.
I was wondering how many people noticed that particular Easter egg. :) Glad you enjoyed it!

Explainings?

Spoiler:
Darvin and his brother from hand of death err doom show up via a song in a tavern and while at camp.
Contributor

Finished this one last night and thought it was great. Nice work on the ensemble cast; I managed to get (briefly) attached to almost everybody and was legitimately sad when bad things happened to 'em. I also liked being wrong about exactly who'd be left standing at the end. :)

Lisette's POV on Drelm made me laugh a bunch in the early chapters. Her contempt for him was just fantastic.

Spoilery spoiler thoughts and questions:

Spoiler:
I liked that we never found out who or what the cultists were actually trying to summon (or even if that really was their goal, since I don't think any of the Razmiri cultists actually confirmed it and it was just conjecture on the part of Our Heroes). It felt very true to sword-and-sorcery that Elyana just lost her temper too much to question the crazed evil spellcasters and ended up letting sharp and pointy bits of metal do her talking in the end, even at the cost of potentially losing out on information.

That said, I'm a little sad not to have that ultimate mystery revealed, because it's So Mysterious and waaah I want to know, waaah.

It does make a neat hook for GMs running campaigns in that part of the world, though, and I suppose it's more adaptable if it stays in mystery.

re: characters I'd like to see going forward:

-- Lisette was hands-down my favorite of the three POVs in this book. So much snark. It warms my heart, truly it does. <3

-- I'd like to see Drelm get his happily-ever-after of crispy bread and boring spousal conversations. I feel like he's earned a happy retirement into the status of Interesting Background NPC/Occasional PC Ally. Especially given the kill count in these books, I don't want to see him risk his neck again!

That said, I'd love to see a cameo appearance from him a few years down the line, especially if it's from the perspective of a character who's never met him before. Lisette's early impressions were solid gold.

-- Elyana's obviously situated to have continuing adventures as well, of course, and I'd happily read whatever she gets up to in the future.
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