Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Occult Bestiary (PFRPG)

In Occult Mysteries it was said...

Algollthu and Othagu...? What's the distinction?

The correct spelling is "alghollthu" and was first revealed in Occult Mysteries, on page 12, where we discuss the veiled masters.

Thanks to both of you for the answer. Now I can sleep easy.

Luthorne wrote:

In Occult Mysteries it was said...

Algollthu and Othagu...? What's the distinction?

James Jacobs wrote:

The correct spelling is "alghollthu" and was first revealed in Occult Mysteries, on page 12, where we discuss the veiled masters.

Thanks to both of you for the answer. Now I can sleep easy.

You can...but should you? The alghollthu are out there...waiting. ;)

Chet wrote:

The description of the Omnipath (page 39) starts with the following text:

Quote:

Hidden away in secret lairs, omnipaths serve as information hubs between othagu (aboleths, veiled masters, and other such creatures).

This is the first time I have seen the term "Othagu". Has it been mentioned before?

Heavy sigh.

This isn't the first time we've mentioned this word—it's the second, and we misspelled it.

The correct spelling is "alghollthu" and was first revealed in Occult Mysteries, on page 12, where we discuss the veiled masters.

Clearly, "othagu" must be either the Munavri or the Aklo word for the alghollthu.

This all sounds so cool! I'm glad I splurged on buying it. Bummed it's going to take so long to get to me though, even though it already shipped.

Chet wrote:

Thanks to both of you for the answer. Now I can sleep easy.

You can...but should you? The alghollthu are out there...waiting. ;)

Yes. If you can sleep easy, then clearly the alghollthu are not doing their job.

Dragon78 wrote:

I like the fear eater, it's like an evil version of the caterpillar from Alice In Wonderland.

The fear eater was originally called the dread glutton and was picked up from RPG Superstar 2015. When brainstorming the book, we felt it was a great fit, and were happy to provide yet another avenue for Superstar contestants to see their work in print!

I really want to see the illustration for it, I might have to get the PDF before the contributor copies arrive. :p

Well, F*CK. That is one of the creepiest covers yet.

The Shotalashu is a magical beast, so no animal companion/mount stats:( They understand the Lashunta language but do not speak. A Lashunta can form a telepathic bond with the creature(DC 20 concentration check using highest mental stat).

Mark Moreland wrote:

The fear eater was originally called the dread glutton and was picked up from RPG Superstar 2015. When brainstorming the book, we felt it was a great fit, and were happy to provide yet another avenue for Superstar contestants to see their work in print!

Nice! I liked the dread glutton!

Same here. I'm very glad that it was included. Kalervo is a brilliant monster designer.

The Shotalashu is a magical beast, so no animal companion/mount stats:( They understand the Lashunta language but do not speak. A Lashunta can form a telepathic bond with the creature(DC 20 concentration check using highest mental stat).

='(

I've been waiting a long time to see Tychilarius statted out. Ever since Elaine Cunningham's story in Legacy of Fire, in fact. Two thoughts:

-What is it supposed to look like? The illustration shows an enormous maw emerging from the water, with a few tentacles. Is it a huge worm/eel? Or mostly just that head, like the whirlmaw from Inner Sea Bestiary?

-It's attributes are way too high for a CR 23 creature: Str 48, Dex 35, Con 46, Int 31, Wis 35, Cha 32. That adds up to 227. Compare that to similar creatures such as...

Is this a big deal? Or even a deal of moderate size? No, but it bugs me when attributes are so disproportionate. It fees sloppy. I ended up making my own version with far more reasonable (in my opinion) stats: Str: 42, Dex: 15, Con: 38, Int: 29, Wis: 31, Cha: 28 (183 total).

Anyway, just obsessively picking nits here. It's still a great book.

How is the art for the Yithian Elder, Liavaran Dreamer, Neothelid Overlord and Tychilarius?

And any new information regarding Tychilarius and the Dominion?

The art is top notch. The yithian elder is crimson and holding a "lightning gun" which looks a bit like an old-school camera. The Liavaran dreamer resembles the Brethedan in Bestiary 4, but with a yellow cast to its body and green tentacles instead of blue. The neothelid is my favorite piece in the book (and also probably my favorite monster): it's a two-headed neothelid with dozens of writhing tentacles sprouting from its body. The heads resemble the monster from Deep Rising; one is open, the other closed. I described Tylicharius's mugshot above.

A monster's total attribute score is not a value that matters much as far as CR is concerned. CR is ONLY a measure of the monster's expected combat values, as summarized on page 229 of Mythic Adventures in table 6–8 (which is an expansion beyond CR 20 to CR 30, from the original table in the Bestiary on page 291 of that book).

Looking at those numbers, a CR 23 creature like Tychilarius should have the following values:

hp about 480
AC about 40
Attack between +26 and +30
Average damage per round between 113 and 150
Ability save between DC 29 and 22
Good saving throw 24
Poor saving throw 19

Now, looking at Tychilarius itself...
hp 495
AC 41
Attack +27 and +25
Average damage 148
Ability saves range from 39 to 26
Good saves +25
Poor saves +19

So, comparing those numbers to the expected numbers for a CR 23 creature, you'll see that Tychilarius is actually pretty close to most of them. It skews a LITTLE high, so it could have probably been ranked as a CR 24 creature with no change whatsoever to its stats... but since it's a unique creature it's better to skew lower so that it feels a tad more powerful than normal. Its only real outlier is its ability saving throws; those skew VERY high. Which isn't actually that unusual; many monsters are better than expected in one category. Giants, for example, have really high damage averages for a creature of their CR.

Now, back to its ability scores. One of the BEST ways to manipulate a monster's CR values (hp, AC, saves, attacks, and damage) is to adjust its ability scores. Another good way to do it is to adjust its HD, of course, but as you get higher and higher CR, adjusting HD gets increasingly swingy, so it's better to bolster the ability scores as needed.

As for what it looks like? As illustrated: a giant mouth surrounded by tentacles. the back side of it is just a blob of tentacles and eyes. If it weren't in the water it'd look like a blob of tentacles and eyes around a giant mouth.

Now, back to its ability scores. One of the BEST ways to manipulate a monster's CR values (hp, AC, saves, attacks, and damage) is to adjust its ability scores. Another good way to do it is to adjust its HD, of course, but as you get higher and higher CR, adjusting HD gets increasingly swingy, so it's better to bolster the ability scores as needed.

Thanks for the detailed reply!

I know I'm being a stickler; it's one of the fun side-effects of having OCD. Still thrilled that the Dominion of the Black got so much lovin'.

May I ask, what game mechanics are used to determine a creatures maximum Psychic Energy pool?

I'd like to know who wrote the dreamthief hag. I'd like to thank them.

In 2010, I lost to Matt Goodall in RPG Superstar (he went on to write "Cult of the Ebon Destroyers").

My pitch was "Doom of the Dreamthieves" which was about extra-powerful night hags that raided Absalom from the Dimension of Dreams. It was a ridiculously complex planar adventure that couldn't actually be written without Occult Adventures (so the pitch was YEARS ahead of its time, the core rules sort of lacked the support it would have required). The proposal had other issues. It was waaaay too long for 32 pages and it drew upon plot elements that the Development Team wanted to quietly forget. "Doom of the Dreamthieves" had fans though! Some people wanted it! I failed very boldly. (Best final round RPGSS advice I can give is to know how many encounters you need to write your adventure).

So, when I saw the dreamthief hag I was touched. In a good way. It made me smile.

Now, having said that, I hope no developer makes a special effort to publicly say there was no connection. Because that would make me sad.

What were the plot elements in question?

What were the plot elements in question?

Send me a PM and I'll answer, or ask in another thread and send me a pointer. Its not relevant to this book and it would be an unnecessary thread derail. Although, I can't guarantee it is worth your time. It was not a particularly provocative decision that I think anyone is going to care about.

I defer all similar posts with the same response. I like the Occult Bestiary. Lets use this thread to talk about this cool book that was actually written. ;-)

May I ask, what game mechanics are used to determine a creatures maximum Psychic Energy pool?

There isn't one, in the same way that there isn't a mechanic to determine how many spell-like abilities a creature has, or how often those abilities can be used per day.

That psychic energy pool mechanic would be awesome for a psychic martial(fighter HD/BA) class. Make the pool level + one mental stat chosen at character creation and depending on which stat(Int, Wis, or Cha) they gain other benefits as well. Instead of giving them there own spell list let them choose from another classes list. Maybe the mental stat determines which spell list(Int-Wizard/Sorcerer, Wis- Cleric/Oracle, Cha- Psychic). Or they can choose from any psychic class if the spell is abjuration, divination, conjuration, and transmutation.

Huh. I wonder how much this will change my party's plans to crush Hagegraf.

Is there a Darklands or Duergar-oriented AP planned for the future?

Boggard vs. boggart has the potential to confuse a whole lotta players, but outside of that (and the misspelling JJ mentioned?) this is some really top-notch work. I am really happy with it.

Boggard vs. boggart has the potential to confuse a whole lotta players,

We've already got ghouls, ghuls, dragons, dragonnes, demons, and daemons; what's another?

What is the Tikbalang like creature on the cover? Is that the Boggart?

Yeah, that is a Boggart.

I just finished my initial read through. The psychic vampire weaknesses are hilarious, I love it. There's not a single monster that I can't use. Love it!

Did anyone else here notice that the Yithian Elder in the book only had 2 eyes even though it's description and the one on the cover have 3?

Did anyone else here notice that the Yithian Elder in the book only had 2 eyes even though it's description and the one on the cover have 3?

I believe that is just a factor of perspective. Traditionally, Yithians' eyes are described as being spaced equally around their heads. The third eye is in the back. Obviously, different artists are going to have different takes, though.

The Shotalashu is a magical beast, so no animal companion/mount stats:( They understand the Lashunta language but do not speak. A Lashunta can form a telepathic bond with the creature (DC 20 concentration check using highest mental stat).

Is there some way to take a magical beast as an animal companion / mount?

The Shotalashu is a magical beast, so no animal companion/mount stats:( They understand the Lashunta language but do not speak. A Lashunta can form a telepathic bond with the creature (DC 20 concentration check using highest mental stat).

Is there some way to take a magical beast as an animal companion / mount?

Yes, but only from a specific list. Plus, the mechanics are... less than optimal.

So, in this case, no. Sorry. ^_^

I received my copies yesterday. I love the art! Don't know if Mark read my thoughts somehow, but when you put the pictures for the uinuja and painajai side by side, it looks as though the azata is going to throw the starknife at the crouching demon. :D

Thank you, Paizo. This is an excellent product.

Out of curiosity I bought the book, but i'm not really happy I did.

I really love the Fear Eater though.

So, the Duergar Tyrant gets a kinetic blast, as well as a small handful of talents, as if they were a kineticist of their level? This seems like an ability far too powerful for a race. It would be like giving a race sneak attack as a rogue of their character level, or am I misunderstanding? Anyone?

So, the Duergar Tyrant gets a kinetic blast, as well as a small handful of talents, as if they were a kineticist of their level? This seems like an ability far too powerful for a race. It would be like giving a race sneak attack as a rogue of their character level, or am I misunderstanding? Anyone?

It might be too powerful (don't have my copy yet), but it isn't like getting sneak attack as a rogue simply because sneak attack adds damage to an existing attack, while kinetic blast replaces whatever attack you would have made.

...sigh, I wish my copy would get here. Been almost two weeks since it shipped...

Out of curiosity I bought the book, but i'm not really happy I did.

I really love the Fear Eater though.

I admit to being a little underwhelmed by this book. The original monsters are good, but a lot of the monsters are slight variations of the original creatures. I get why that happened...since this was meant to by like the monster section of mythic adventures which just has alternative mythic versions of known monsters. To me at least, I have trouble seeing them as "different" monsters versus a monster with a flipped out spell list or levels in a in an occult class.

Hey folks who are lucky enough to have this book, do the aquatic psychic giants that live in the Antarkos Ocean, mentioned in Raiders of the Fever Sea, make an appearance in here? Thanks in advance!

This book is a lot better then the mythic monster bestiary section.

No, there are no giants in the book at all.

That's too bad. I thought undersea giants that enslaved the thoughts and dreams of lesser beings sounded pretty cool.

Acolyte of Mushu, do remember what page they were mentioned?

Acolyte of Mushu, do remember what page they were mentioned?

Page 65.

And thanks. I nearly forgot about that little tidbit I dropped there.

Ok... question for those in the know. In the Animus Shade stat block it says they have d10 HD, but in the creating an Animus Shade section, it says that HD should be changed to d8's. Which is correct?

I'm also a little disappointed by the large number of monsters that were just psychic versions of existent monsters. I totally understand why it needed to be done, but it just isn't very interesting from a coolness/fluff perspective. Might as well happen here and not the hardcover bestiary though. The real original monsters were all awesome however. I love the Boggart, the Fear Eater, the assorted new fiends, and it had my second favorite Azata.

Kyton, Cantor it's Oneiric Invasion refers to Improved Invisibility. I think it should be Invisibility, Greater.

Skaeren wrote:

So, the Duergar Tyrant gets a kinetic blast, as well as a small handful of talents, as if they were a kineticist of their level? This seems like an ability far too powerful for a race. It would be like giving a race sneak attack as a rogue of their character level, or am I misunderstanding? Anyone?

It might be too powerful (don't have my copy yet), but it isn't like getting sneak attack as a rogue simply because sneak attack adds damage to an existing attack, while kinetic blast replaces whatever attack you would have made.

...sigh, I wish my copy would get here. Been almost two weeks since it shipped...

It's also clearly not intended as a playable race, being the Duergar equivalent to the Drow Noble

So just out of curiosity, how easy/hard does it look like it would be to reverse-engineer the energy points deal back to uses per day psychic SLAs (or vice-versa)? I'm not strictly opposed to the idea but for my current campaign I have reasons not to get Psychic Magic in my Chocolate and Psionics in my Peanut Butter.

The illustration for the Psyche Serpent is amazing, and I the friendly rivalry between them and their bonded partners sounds like fun to roleplay. It might pair well with a psychic caster like a Mindblade which has limited enchantment options. More psychic familiars of this quality would be great.

So, comparing those numbers to the expected numbers for a CR 23 creature, you'll see that Tychilarius is actually pretty close to most of them. It skews a LITTLE high, so it could have probably been ranked as a CR 24 creature with no change whatsoever to its stats... but since it's a unique creature it's better to skew lower so that it feels a tad more powerful than normal.

That sounds terribly wrong...

That CRs are set lower (or perhaps higher, somewhere else) just to give a feel is really a scary thing to hear from a developer. It makes me lose all trust in CRs, telling me that when I want to use a unique creature (and let's hope the thing is limited to just them) I should go check if its stats are in line with what I expected and wanted to use, and that I should probably test it to avoid bad surprises. Basically, I should waste time because I couldn't trust a number that was there to make me save that time.

Is there any sort of breakdown for racial points for the new playable races? There isn't any in the book itself, but if there's any on the message boards I haven't found it yet. Just wondering so those of us who'd like to write up our own 'psychic/occult races' have some numbers to work with for some of the new abilities like the psychic magic stuff.

(Also, what's the formula to determine how many PE points a given creature has by default?)

Did the Lashunta get anything new in this book?

What is the GM supposed to do with the Munavris? They're too powerful to use as PCs. They're good aligned, so they can't be fought in typical campaigns unless they've turned evil. Maybe they could function as allies of good-aligned PCs, or as opponents of an evil campaign?