Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Occult Bestiary (PFRPG)

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Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Occult Bestiary (PFRPG)
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Mind-Shattering Monsters!

Little is known about some of the deadliest horrors inhabiting the world of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, and that's just how these denizens of dream and thought like it. The less their secrets reach the average adventurer, the more easily they can hunt in the Dimension of Dreams, steal the minds of unsuspecting victims, and spread fear and discord throughout the multiverse. But their secrets are finally revealed! The perfect companion to Pathfinder RPG Occult Adventures, this grimoire of new monsters is a must-have for any Game Master running an occult campaign, whether or not the player characters are themselves psychic spellcasters. Within these mysterious pages you'll find:

  • Nearly 50 new creatures that possess psychic abilities or are based on occult themes.
  • New playable races, including variant duergar and samsarans, as well as munavris—albino humanoid denizens of the Darklands' Sightless Sea.
  • Aliens from Golarion's planetary neighbors and beyond, including yithian elders, enlightened contemplatives, and Liavaran dreamers.
  • Denizens of the mysterious Dimension of Dreams, including rival azatas and demons who vie for control of sleepers' minds.
  • Seven creature templates to turn your favorite monsters into mind-bending foes such as alter egos, animus shades, relentless psychic liches, or thought-sapping psychic vampires.
  • Statistics for powerful aboleth omnipaths, neothelid overlords, and the unique otherworldly horror known as Tychilarius—the perfect capstone to high-level occult adventures.

Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Occult Bestiary is intended for use with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and the Pathfinder campaign setting, but can easily be used in any fantasy game setting.

ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-767-3

Other Resources: This product is also available on the following platforms:

Hero Lab Online
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Psychic and Occult style Critters Abound

5/5

I love bestiaries and Paizo doesn't disappoint in quality and variety when it comes to there monsters.
The Good
-A new Aeon, Azata, Azura and Rakshasa.
-New 0HD races.
-New fey(Boggart and Fear Eater)
-Some alien life forms like the Shotalashu.
-Alternate/more powerful versions of many creatures.
-Psychoplasmic creatures! and other interesting templates.
-New type of Naga(Dream).
The Bad
-A lot of alternate versions of existing creatures.
-No new elementals.
-Almost half the book are outsiders.


And Madness Followed


As the title suggests, this is a sourcebook of critters for the new Occult Adventures source material. Most of them use psychic magic or rules or variant class skills, so if you don't intend on buying the master volume, leave this one on the shelf. There are however, a handful of psychic-flavoured adversaries that don't use these rules. The creatures presented have a scale of OA knowledge, so DMs can jump right in with some of the less complicated offerings. Tychilarius the BBEG is actually free of psychic rules, strangely enough.

The creatures presented are of all CRs and most, if not all, major creature types have something added to them. This book is packed cover to cover with usefulness, the inside cover having the standard bestiary breakdown of CR, type and role. I wish Paizo would release this page as a preview for perspective buyers.

Flavour-wise, we have denizens of any place dark, mysterious or dark and mysterious place. The Dominion of the Black gets a major nod in Tychilarius; the underdark has many new hazards; Vudra and Tian Xia get foes to fit with their exotic feel; and many of these critters have ties to the shadow plane, astral plane or dreamscape.

Players have complained that some of the more recent creature offerings feel uninspired. I do not feel this way about this book. There are variants for some creature types, but mostly the creatures feel exotic and fresh. My favorite so far is the tattoo guardian, a construct with a wonderful flavor appeal. There are also lots of templates.

My only major complaint is that the book seems to have a disproportionate number of undead. Woe betide the psychic spell caster who dies any sort of death! All in all, a book I'm excited about. I really have to commend the designers on having a variety of creatures of all types, CRs and with varying amounts of OA rules.


You can never have too many monsters

5/5

Read my full review on Of Dice and Pen.

Monsters enjoy an interesting privilege in roleplaying games. It seems that no matter how many there are, there are never too many. There are a lot of monsters in Pathfinder and there's a very good chance that many of the ones in Occult Bestiary will never see use in any of my games. But I like having them nevertheless. And some will see use. Maybe a lot of use. Overall, Occult Bestiary is a great addition to any GM's bookshelf.


Worth the Wait

5/5

At first when I heard that the Occult Bestiary was meant to be appended to Occult Adventures I was irritated that we weren't getting the book all in one.

After reading the book, however, I've totally changed my opinion. I loved the flavor of the monsters in this book, and especially the templates, and having to wait a little longer to get just that little bit more out of the first burst of truly weird and wacky baddies now seems totally justified.

There are more than a few occult reskins of traditional monsters, which I am personally a big fan of, a smattering of templates that help bring the monsters they didn't give an eldritch makeover into the fold, and more than a couple brand-new ones that hail from places like The Dimension of Dreams or The Dominion of the Black.

This book has got me all kinds of excited for Bestiary 5!


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Why there are Kelpie and those Lovecraft-things on the cover? They are already in other bestiaries?


You mean the Yithian, that is because were getting a Yithian Elder. As for the kelpie looking thing, it looks like it is part troll so maybe a template or it is something else entirely.


Or we are getting a psychic version of the Tikbalang?


I could have sworn the Tikbalang had hooved feat.

It could be some type of psychic troll.


Or just a psychic version of a kelpie?

--C.

Community Manager

1 person marked this as a favorite.

I'm sure you'll get the answers you seek in...about a month or so. :)


Tychilarius?!?!?! I've been waiting for this moment since Elaine Cunningham's awesome Pathfinder tale!


Well at least this book's release isn't that far away.


Is Tychilarius a god?

Silver Crusade Contributor

Axial wrote:
Is Tychilarius a god?

Closer to a Great Old One, I believe - a powerful being of the Dark Tapestry. The fiction from Legacy of Fire involves the Night Heralds' attempts to summon Tychilarius to Golarion.


I haven't looked at legacy of Fire in ages.

Silver Crusade Contributor

Nobody has. That's why I'm here.


Well the undead psychic on the cover looks too well preserved to be a lich but I could be wrong.


It looks kind of like an evil version of Rivani; she's even floating herself and a bunch of objects.


Pathfinder Maps, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

So I guess her name is Inavir?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Axial wrote:
Is Tychilarius a god?

The Dominion of the Black article in "Valley of the Brain Collectors" has a bit more information, but no, Tychilarius is not a god. It's a powerful alien, but is MUCH less powerful than the Great Old Ones. He's the most powerful creature in this book, but I believe he's only CR 23 or thereabouts, as opposed to the lowest CR Great Old One which is CR 27. I'm relatively sure Tychilarius doesn't grant spells. I was originally going to be the one to design it and I wasn't going to give it the ability to grant spells; my notes to the author who DID design it made that clear, but I've not had a chance yet to read the final entry...

So, no. Tychilarius is not a god.


James Jacobs wrote:
Axial wrote:
Is Tychilarius a god?

The Dominion of the Black article in "Valley of the Brain Collectors" has a bit more information, but no, Tychilarius is not a god. It's a powerful alien, but is MUCH less powerful than the Great Old Ones. He's the most powerful creature in this book, but I believe he's only CR 23 or thereabouts, as opposed to the lowest CR Great Old One which is CR 27. I'm relatively sure Tychilarius doesn't grant spells. I was originally going to be the one to design it and I wasn't going to give it the ability to grant spells; my notes to the author who DID design it made that clear, but I've not had a chance yet to read the final entry...

So, no. Tychilarius is not a god.

I was just curious because capstone monsters (Pazuzu, Cthulu, Furcas et cetera) tend to be deities.


So he is CR23, so basically he/she/it is as strong as one of Rovagug's spawn.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Dragon78 wrote:
So he is CR23, so basically he/she/it is as strong as one of Rovagug's spawn.

Exactly; and like the spawn, intended to be a big bad end guy for a classic (aka Non-Mythic) campaign.


Have the Munavris been mentioned before in any books?

Paizo Employee Developer

Yes, but not by name. They were first mentioned in Into the Darklands.


Pathfinder Lost Omens, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Adam Daigle wrote:
Yes, but not by name. They were first mentioned in Into the Darklands.

could I ask where in the book?


zergtitan wrote:
Adam Daigle wrote:
Yes, but not by name. They were first mentioned in Into the Darklands.
could I ask where in the book?

Try page 53 in the first paragraph of the Sightless Sea section.

Silver Crusade Contributor

Gisher wrote:
zergtitan wrote:
Adam Daigle wrote:
Yes, but not by name. They were first mentioned in Into the Darklands.
could I ask where in the book?
Try page 53 in the first paragraph of the Sightless Sea section.

Good catch!


Page 53, okay got to check that one out.

I hope there will be 5 0HD races in this book like the Inner Sea Bestiary had.


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Dragon78 wrote:

Page 53, okay got to check that one out.

I hope there will be 5 0HD races in this book like the Inner Sea Bestiary had.

the product description wrote:
New playable races, including variant duergar and samsarans, as well as munavris—albino humanoid denizens of the Darklands' Sightless Sea.


I already say those three but I am hoping there is more.


Kalindlara wrote:
Gisher wrote:
zergtitan wrote:
Adam Daigle wrote:
Yes, but not by name. They were first mentioned in Into the Darklands.
could I ask where in the book?
Try page 53 in the first paragraph of the Sightless Sea section.
Good catch!

Thanks. :)


Any chance of any non-yithian creatures from the yithian's home world?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Dragon78 wrote:
Any chance of any non-yithian creatures from the yithian's home world?

That's a weird question. Since Earth is the home world of their physical bodies... yes. Whenever we stat up a real-world creature or something from Earth mythology... there ya go.

Assuming you're asking about creatures from the mind portion of the race's home world... no. Not in this book.


I see that Akiton, Liavara, and Castrovel will get some love but what about monsters from the other planets/moons?


Please tell me that dragons will have alternate racial traits based on the kineticist's class features. For instance:
- Replacing the breath weapons with blasts (Hey, how many times have you seen dragons "breathing" energy blasts as fast as a machine gun in video games, animes, and other fiction works :P ?)

- Replacing the spells by talents, being applyable to the breath weapon.

- Allowing dragons to get kineticist-exclusive feats to apply to their spells and/or their breath weapons.

Silver Crusade Contributor

James Jacobs wrote:
Dragon78 wrote:
Any chance of any non-yithian creatures from the yithian's home world?

That's a weird question. Since Earth is the home world of their physical bodies... yes. Whenever we stat up a real-world creature or something from Earth mythology... there ya go.

Assuming you're asking about creatures from the mind portion of the race's home world... no. Not in this book.

How canonical are Lovecraft's stories to Pathfinder-Earth (as seen in the Adventure Path)?

The Antarctic city of the elder things?
The Great Race in Australia?
The mi-go in America?

Pretty much everything?


I am happy that we are getting some more creatures from the dimension of dreams, I hope that some of them will be creature types other then outsider or undead, some magical beast, plant, monstrous humanoid, and ooze types would be cool.

Silver Crusade Contributor

There were creatures of dream from Ravenloft I always liked - big, black, four-armed. Ennui, maybe?

Wish they were coming back. They're probably Product Identity, though.

Although they were in Denizens of Dread...


1 person marked this as a favorite.

If were talking about creatures from older editions that we miss, I would say the Astral Dreadnaught comes to mind.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Kalindlara wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Dragon78 wrote:
Any chance of any non-yithian creatures from the yithian's home world?

That's a weird question. Since Earth is the home world of their physical bodies... yes. Whenever we stat up a real-world creature or something from Earth mythology... there ya go.

Assuming you're asking about creatures from the mind portion of the race's home world... no. Not in this book.

How canonical are Lovecraft's stories to Pathfinder-Earth (as seen in the Adventure Path)?

The Antarctic city of the elder things?
The Great Race in Australia?
The mi-go in America?

Pretty much everything?

It's all canonical, pretty much. Because it's so much more interesting that way. Fortunately, pretty much all of the monsters in his mythos with a few exceptions are wide-reaching aliens who enjoy traveling.


Hmmm When it says alternate Duergar and Samsarans I wonder if they are just alternate racial traits or actual subsets of those races.

Honestly the munavris alone have me really excited. I've always wondered about the part in Into the Darklands that talked about albinos in jade armor sailing the sunless sea. Between new races in this and new races in Bestiary 5 I am pumped


The Munavris were described as being white skinned humans with telepathy and wearing jade armor. Since they are a 0HD they more then likely have limited telepathy like the Lashunta's ability.


Dragon78 wrote:
The Munavris were described as being white skinned humans with telepathy and wearing jade armor. Since they are a 0HD they more then likely have limited telepathy like the Lashunta's ability.

Maybe they come in different flavors.


Lord-of-Boggards wrote:
Hmmm When it says alternate Duergar and Samsarans I wonder if they are just alternate racial traits or actual subsets of those races.

Probably psychic-magic versions of the current races.


Dragon78 wrote:
The Munavris were described as being white skinned humans with telepathy and wearing jade armor. Since they are a 0HD they more then likely have limited telepathy like the Lashunta's ability.

Either way seem like a great race to use in conjunction with the new classes.

I will take any and all Darklands races I can. Munavris and (correct me if I am wrong) a 0HD darkfolk race in Bestiary 5! It is like a twisted subterranean christmas for me!


I hope all the playable 0HD races in this book and in Bestiary 5 are origial made up races or from D&D, but not from mythology, didn't like the Undine, Sylph and some others end up as Playable Races.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

It'd be pretty cool to play a Darklands campaign where the entire party consists of drow, duergar, svirfneblin, munavris, and the new playable dark folk in B5.


I am much more excited for the new race(or races) then the variant ones.

Who knows Axial, maybe we will be another new underdark race that hasn't been mentioned yet.


Oh, I hope the Munavris isn't going to be light sensitive and not have an alternative trait to avoid that. Otherwise I'll just have to remove light sensitivity if I'm GMing or beg the GM to waive it if I'm a player.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

But if you are playing a darklands campaign, its not like you have to worry about light in first place ._.;


Yeah, but I also want to play Munavris in stuff that isn't a Darklands campaign.


2 people marked this as a favorite.

Why not include Kobolds, Fetchlings and Wayang to your darklands list? Also Dhampir would work as well. Maybe Goblins, Hobgoblins, and Orcs.


Actually if you look at the darklands section in the Dragon Empire Gazetteer it mentions a whole kingdom of Ratfolk down there.

So my personal list for dark lands races would be Drow, Duergar, svifer... svierfe...svelif... Deep gnomes, Munavris, Darkfolk, Ratfolk, Kobolds, Goblins and Orcs.

Maybe Fetchlings, Wayangs, Hobgoblins, and Oreads. Tieflings and Dhampir might make sense as well. Too bad there isn't a ghoul associated playable race or playable trogs or serpentfolk.

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