Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Monster Codex (OGL)

So will this one have chapter openers like other hardcack books?

I sure hope so. I love those.

Yes! It's actually happening! And I'm late for the party as always, but it's happening :)

From a GM perspective, more simple templates are always welcome additions to the game!

Then you'd really love this thing.

This looks fantastic! Get hyped!

Wow. Boggards, troglodytes, lizardfolk...my Isle of Dread is going to be fantastically populated.

Can't wait for this, and you guys picked the perfect name for the book.

Shadar Aman wrote:

The real question is: when do we get a "Lords of Madness" book in this style? This books sounds awesome and all, but I want more info for Aboleths and other awesome aberrations!

From the Department of Expectation Management:

This book is not going to be a "Lords of Madness" style book in the first place. It's going to be a lot closer to NPC Codex. It's not going to have a lot of in-depth world content; it's a world-neutal book that focuses pretty heavilly on stat blocks and rules, not so much on ecologies and the like... there'll be some elements of that in here, but if you're looking for that kind of info, we've already published books for these monsters in the various Revisited books.

Thanks for the clarification! I still want a book like this one about Abberations, though. :P

And a true "Lords of Madness" type of book would be awesome too, but I don't think I need to tell you that.

Can we expect multiclassed monsters? That would be awesome.

Thank you,Thank you,Thank you,Thank you,Thank you!!!!

I loved the ARG and bought it the first chance I could get since it covered my three favorite races (Catfolk, Gnoll and Kobold) And got rid of the STUPID level adjustment rules so I could make a Gnoll or Lizardfolk at lvl 1.

Now gnoll centric feat(s) and class archtype(s)? Color me SOLD BABY!

Seriously I love playing a (L,N,C)G Gnoll that after the party kills the BBEG, just sits down and cooks (Or maybe not depends on the character) and eats them and looks at the rest of the party like "What?!"

...darn it. It has kobolds. Now I have to buy it.

Sorry!

Sorry!

No. No, you're not. This was planned!

Fantastic book idea!

Really looking forward to seeing what y'all come up with for vampires. Despite being overused in most media, they are still my favorite undead by far.

Can we please get more "Monster Feats" in Pathfinder with this book?

Specifically, we need feats that allow bigger increases to a creature's Supernatural/Extraordinary/Spell-Like special attacks/qualities.

Being limited to "racial Hit Dice" only ruins game balance when I want to give a monster class levels to face the PCs, but the DCs to their special attacks are stuck at a much lower save DC.

For example, I have a doppelganger NPC with 11 class levels (Rogue/Mindspy), and a high DC for his detect thoughts would be extremely useful but being stuck at DC 13 (or 15 if I equip +4 Charisma Cloak) is not as useful, especially against PCs with high Will saves at that point.

Can we please get more "Monster Feats" in Pathfinder with this book?

Specifically, we need feats that allow bigger increases to a creature's Supernatural/Extraordinary/Spell-Like special attacks/qualities.

Being limited to "racial Hit Dice" only ruins game balance when I want to give a monster class levels to face the PCs, but the DCs to their special attacks are stuck at a much lower save DC.

For example, I have a doppelganger NPC with 11 class levels (Rogue/Mindspy), and a high DC for his detect thoughts would be extremely useful but being stuck at DC 13 (or 15 if I equip +4 Charisma Cloak) is not as useful, especially against PCs with high Will saves at that point.

Have you looked at 101 Monster Feats?

I'm somewhat excited for this book. But I am overjoyed at the prospect of getting Monster Codex pawns. Please say those are in the works.

Haven't seen any reply to this yet, but I'm with Dustin on this. A Typical Big Box of Pawns is around 300 of the them. That breaks down to about 15 Pawns for each of the 20 Monsters.

If Paizo makes this a Pawn Box set, then we'll get the sheets of Gobos, giants, ogres, orcs and so many more (well at least 16 more until they release Monster Codex 2!) that that I see the fans clamoring for in Pawn threads.

So...will we see a Monster Codex Pawn set?!!!!

Kind of reminds me of the last of the 3.5 Monster Manuals only it sounds like you are doing a better job with the idea.

Kind of reminds me of the last of the 3.5 Monster Manuals only it sounds like you are doing a better job with the idea.

My thought exactly... a Monster Manual/Bestiary should be about new monsters only, not about recycling old monsters with stat blocks.

This isn't a monster manual, it is an NPC codex using monsters instead of standard races.

This isn't a monster manual, it is an NPC codex using monsters instead of standard races.

And I want this faaaaaaaaaar more than a new Bestiary! With 4 Bestiaries I've got way more monsters I'll ever be able to use (I enjoy the Bestiaries, but I feel no need whatsoever for more), but being able to easily flesh out stuff like savage orc tribes or noble distant giant cities with pre-statted leaders, shamans, and the like, that's REALLY useful and will save me a lot of time.

I want more hardcover bestiaries faaaaaaaaar more then this or a regular NPC codex.

Hobgoblins Hobgoblins Hobgoblins Hobgoblins Hobgoblins Hobgoblins!

I want it just because that cover makes it look like word got out to the monster community that the ACG was coming and they all decided to hold a conference and discuss how best to address the expected influx of adventurers with new combinations of strengths and abilities.

"Archetypes, that'll help us throw our own surprises at them!" says the drow.

"Och, ye pointy-eared git, feats! New feats are how you lay an uppity young adventurer low!" says the duergar.

"Whatchya cookin' in the pot?" says the ogre.

Dragon78 wrote:

This isn't a monster manual, it is an NPC codex using monsters instead of standard races.

And I want this faaaaaaaaaar more than a new Bestiary! With 4 Bestiaries I've got way more monsters I'll ever be able to use (I enjoy the Bestiaries, but I feel no need whatsoever for more), but being able to easily flesh out stuff like savage orc tribes or noble distant giant cities with pre-statted leaders, shamans, and the like, that's REALLY useful and will save me a lot of time.

Speak for yourself. Humanoid lover. :-D

DeathQuaker wrote:

Dragon78 wrote:

This isn't a monster manual, it is an NPC codex using monsters instead of standard races.

And I want this faaaaaaaaaar more than a new Bestiary! With 4 Bestiaries I've got way more monsters I'll ever be able to use (I enjoy the Bestiaries, but I feel no need whatsoever for more), but being able to easily flesh out stuff like savage orc tribes or noble distant giant cities with pre-statted leaders, shamans, and the like, that's REALLY useful and will save me a lot of time.

Speak for yourself. Humanoid lover. :-D

Don't make assumptions. I think most non-humanoids are so impressive they don't NEED class levels. :) (But I've got four books' worth I will probably never even get to use half of, however awesome--there are only so many games and terrains PCs will cross!)

But when I DO need savage humanoids, this will come in incredibly handy. Especially as my homebrew world has a nation full of orcs and goblins of a variety of walks of life. (And just so you don't go jumping to conclusions again, there is also a thriving and powerful dragon population, hordes of aberrations and magical beasts, and very active and involved outsiders of all kinds, among others.)

I love the cover for this but am I the only one not really thrilled with the look for the bugbear? It looks a lot closer to the 3.5 version with the full head of hair and beard rather than pathfinder's iteration with the milky dead eyes, bald head, and "I'm a goblin serial killer intent to kill you after I make you plead for it" look.

The Evil Queen wrote:

DeathQuaker wrote:

Dragon78 wrote:

This isn't a monster manual, it is an NPC codex using monsters instead of standard races.

And I want this faaaaaaaaaar more than a new Bestiary! With 4 Bestiaries I've got way more monsters I'll ever be able to use (I enjoy the Bestiaries, but I feel no need whatsoever for more), but being able to easily flesh out stuff like savage orc tribes or noble distant giant cities with pre-statted leaders, shamans, and the like, that's REALLY useful and will save me a lot of time.

Speak for yourself. Humanoid lover. :-D

Don't make assumptions. I think most non-humanoids are so impressive they don't NEED class levels. :) (But I've got four books' worth I will probably never even get to use half of, however awesome--there are only so many games and terrains PCs will cross!)

But when I DO need savage humanoids, this will come in incredibly handy. Especially as my homebrew world has a nation full of orcs and goblins of a variety of walks of life. (And just so you don't go jumping to conclusions again, there is also a thriving and powerful dragon population, hordes of aberrations and magical beasts, and very active and involved outsiders of all kinds, among others.)

Well you can always skip the next bestairy right?

For us real life myth/mythology/folklore/fantasy lovers there are still MANY more monsters to paizonize, so we really need more bestiaries.

I love the cover for this but am I the only one not really thrilled with the look for the bugbear? It looks a lot closer to the 3.5 version with the full head of hair and beard rather than pathfinder's iteration with the milky dead eyes, bald head, and "I'm a goblin serial killer intent to kill you after I make you plead for it" look.

I actually prefer the 3rd edition look for the bugbear. I also don't care for the Pathfinder look for the goblins and hobgoblins.

I'll take both more bestiaries and more NPC/Monster codices please. These are by far my favorite accessory books and they have a ton of art which is awesome.

I think it's a nice combination of the 3.5 hairyness with the PF goblinoid look.

Im also not a fan of particularly the bestiary illustrations for bugbears and hobbos but i like the idea of goblinoids being recognizable as the closely related species they are.

I'll take both more bestiaries and more NPC/Monster codices please. These are by far my favorite accessory books and they have a ton of art which is awesome.

And they always herald the release of a new pawn box.

I actually like the look and fluff of Pathfinder goblinoids...they actually feel rather distinctive. I always felt that the DnD goblinoids were kind of just there, and fairly generic (at least compared to better fleshed out bad guys like Drow and such)

This is awesome.

Any chance of putting out the pawns for this at the same time or within a month or two?

(That's a rhetorical question but it's worth a shot).

I actually like the look and fluff of Pathfinder goblinoids...they actually feel rather distinctive. I always felt that the DnD goblinoids were kind of just there, and fairly generic (at least compared to better fleshed out bad guys like Drow and such)

With you. The new Hobgoblin art in B1 isn't that flavorful but the rest really make them stand out. The old Bugbear always looked more like a giant or ogre cousin than a goblin.

DeathQuaker wrote:

The Evil Queen wrote:

DeathQuaker wrote:

Dragon78 wrote:

This isn't a monster manual, it is an NPC codex using monsters instead of standard races.

And I want this faaaaaaaaaar more than a new Bestiary! With 4 Bestiaries I've got way more monsters I'll ever be able to use (I enjoy the Bestiaries, but I feel no need whatsoever for more), but being able to easily flesh out stuff like savage orc tribes or noble distant giant cities with pre-statted leaders, shamans, and the like, that's REALLY useful and will save me a lot of time.

Speak for yourself. Humanoid lover. :-D

Don't make assumptions. I think most non-humanoids are so impressive they don't NEED class levels. :) (But I've got four books' worth I will probably never even get to use half of, however awesome--there are only so many games and terrains PCs will cross!)

But when I DO need savage humanoids, this will come in incredibly handy. Especially as my homebrew world has a nation full of orcs and goblins of a variety of walks of life. (And just so you don't go jumping to conclusions again, there is also a thriving and powerful dragon population, hordes of aberrations and magical beasts, and very active and involved outsiders of all kinds, among others.)

Well you can always skip the next bestairy right?

For us real life myth/mythology/folklore/fantasy lovers there are still MANY more monsters to paizonize, so we really need more bestiaries.

Of course. And when the next Bestiary comes out, I am not going to piss on the parade of the people who really want it by spamming its product thread about why I think it's a waste of time and why I think people who want the Bestiary are wrong and terrible people. Just because I personally don't want a book, I still respect the fact that others do. (If I implied otherwise, I apologize.)

However, in this here Monster Codex thread, I was just trying to post that I'm glad this thing is coming to be and that Paizo isn't ONLY (but not never) producing Bestiaries as monster sources---because I see room for this AS WELL and that I personally have even more use for it. I want to give Paizo the feedback that the new thing they are trying is also appreciated. I should have just left it there, but people started telling me I was having fun wrong and I got defensive and let myself go off topic. My bad. This is why I try not to post in the discussion boards any more. And with that, I'm out.

The only point I should have made and left it at: Paizo, thanks for making this. I plan on resubscribing when it comes close.

Is it just me, or does the product description of the book's contents not quite match up with the book's cover??

Per description: Comprehensive chapters for 20 of the game’s most iconic monsters, including the boggard, bugbear, drow, duergar, fire giant, frost giant, ghoul, gnoll, goblin, hobgoblin, kobold, lizardfolk, ogre, orc, ratfolk, sahuagin, serpentfolk, troglodyte, troll, and vampire.

The description itself lists all 20 of the monsters (so I have no idea why it says "including"), and I can see each of them depicted on the cover - except for the serpentfolk!

Do I just not see it?

On the other hand, the cover shows a mite (lower left corner with the ratfolk), which isn't mentioned in the product description...

Also, in the upper left corner (in silhouette) there's what appears to be a minotaur (?)... The shape of the horns initially led me to think it could be a satyr as they're rather goatlike, but the posture, weapon of choice and stockiness of the figure seems more in keeping with a minotaur... <shrug>

Has the content of the book been changed from the initial product description, perhaps?

Just wondering...

And I'm glad that Paizo's trying out a new ideas for products (like this one). I do like the bestiaries (overall), but I think an 'every-other-year' release plan might help to keep them stronger (in quality of both production AND content) than an 'every-year' release would.

--C.

I would be very disappointed if they took out the serpentfolk.

Good point...maybe we can get clarification. I would more lean on there actually being more than 20

I doubt they would take out serpentfolk. It's more likely the cover art simply doesn't include everything that's inside the book, or perhaps you can't see the serpentfolk because of the placing of the titles. I mean currently the troglodyte is almost completely obstructed by the "Monster Codex" and the Pathfinder logo isn't doing the lizardfolk any favors either.

I actually like the look and fluff of Pathfinder goblinoids...they actually feel rather distinctive. I always felt that the DnD goblinoids were kind of just there, and fairly generic (at least compared to better fleshed out bad guys like Drow and such)

I'm with you. I just wish they did more with the whole 'bugbears as terror-rousing serial killers' idea; whenever they do show up in an adventure, they seem to be just simple thugs for PCs who haven't graduated to facing ogres and trolls yet.

I also want to day that I like the cover. Looks like the monsters are having a convention in the dungeon; and does it appear to anyone else like the vampire is hitting on (what I assume to be) the drow?

I'm very much looking forward to this book! NPC creation is the most time-consuming part of adventure design. The NPC Gallery from the GameMastery Guide and the NPC Codex have been HUGE time-savers for this GM. Honestly, time is my most precious commodity these days.

It's discouraging to spend four hours statting up an NPC or unique monster when I know it's going to be dead in three rounds. Anything that's going to enable me to spend more time designing awesome encounter areas rather than statting up monsters is a Very Good Thing!

Someone needs to clone the Paizo staff, the contributors and the artists.

And then people need to be able to pay for the increased amount of products released.

Oh this is awesome! GREAT idea.

I'm really pleased people are digging the idea behind this book.

I suspect we'll do another Bestiary soon.

And a Pawn Box based on this book is, of course, a good bet.

Pathfinder Battles miniatures based on some of the art also seems likely.

But all of that is just speculation, you understand.

Speculation... From Erik Mona... Or as we like to call it, a damn near certainty.

I'm really pleased people are digging the idea behind this book.

I suspect we'll do another Bestiary soon.

And a Pawn Box based on this book is, of course, a good bet.

Pathfinder Battles miniatures based on some of the art also seems likely.

But all of that is just speculation, you understand.

Ido believe there was a thread where a lot of people expressed interest in such a book, so it's only natural that the reaction is positive now that it's coming out.

So...

No comment from anyone of the Paizo staff regarding the seeming disconnect* between what's mentioned in the product description (albeit, a non-finalised one) and what's depicted on the product cover (apparently, the finalised version)...

???

Even a "We are not ready to clarify things regarding the product at this time." is better than feeling that I'm the only one who's not 'getting it' -- just saying. ;p

Please & thank you.

--C.

<EDIT> * This refers to my (indirect) query in the 12th post before this one above.

I don't really think it's that big a deal, that they would have to release a statement.

So...

No comment from anyone of the Paizo staff regarding the seeming disconnect* between what's mentioned in the product description (albeit, a non-finalised one) and what's depicted on the product cover (apparently, the finalised version)...

???

Even a "We are not ready to clarify things regarding the product at this time." is better than feeling that I'm the only one who's not 'getting it' -- just saying. ;p

Please & thank you.

--C.

<EDIT> * This refers to my (indirect) query in the 12th post before this one above.

I don't get the big deal here...a cover can not depict everything in the book. As a example the Advanced Player Guide only has the iconic Witch and Alchemist on it...yet inside those are not the only new classes in the book.

Another example is the Bestiary it has what 3 or 4 of the over a hundred monsters inside.

Well if he suspects we might get a bestiary soon it might mean we will get a softcover campaign setting bestiary like the Inner Sea Bestiary early next year or his definition of "soon" is like 365+ days:)

The description itself lists all 20 of the monsters (so I have no idea why it says "including"), and I can see each of them depicted on the cover - except for the serpentfolk!

Do I just not see it?

It's there, you just don't see it. If you look closely up by the logo, under the word "Game" you can see the serpentfolk, raising an item in offering to the frost giant. He is, alas, mostly obscured by the logo. But he is there. I just flipped through the art for the serpentfolk chapter of this book, and it is glorious.

On the other hand, the cover shows a mite (lower left corner with the ratfolk), which isn't mentioned in the product description...

Also, in the upper left corner (in silhouette) there's what appears to be a minotaur (?)... The shape of the horns initially led me to think it could be a satyr as they're rather goatlike, but the posture, weapon of choice and stockiness of the figure seems more in keeping with a minotaur... <shrug>

Neither mites not minotaurs are featured in this book (but, indeed, both are on the cover). Actually I'm not sure what that silhouette in the background is, but it's probably a minotaur.

Has the content of the book been changed from the initial product description, perhaps?

Just wondering...

The product content has not been changed from the initial product description.