Alexander Augunas Contributor |
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Part of me hopes that the Four Horsemen will be the biblical ones....but for some reason I'm guessing they're going to chuck Conquest out and shove Pestilence in....
I imagine they'll be the Four Horseman from Golarion, because while the Bestiaries are setting neutral, they are designed for Golarion first and foremost. (Similar to how all of the demon lords and empyreal lords we've gotten so far are prominent in Golarion.)
Milo v3 |
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Milo,
Uhm Golorian's arch daemons are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. IE Death, Famine, War and Pestilence.
Ugh *facedesk*
That is not the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Conquest (or Victory), War, Famine, Death.I imagine they'll be the Four Horseman from Golarion, because while the Bestiaries are setting neutral, they are designed for Golarion first and foremost. (Similar to how all of the demon lords and empyreal lords we've gotten so far are prominent in Golarion.)
I don't know Golarion lore and stuff.
Wannabe Demon Lord |
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Ye gods, another Bestiary? Well, that's it, I'm done with these books, no way will I ever get anoth --
Strange new player-character-suitable races like the canine rougarou,
Okay, maybe just one more. PS: Please let the rougarou be wolflike, and not humanoid pugs or something.
And more on the Four Horsemen, Archdevils, and the Wild Hunt and Krampus is good too. More templates are always great.
Wannabe Demon Lord wrote:A bit OT but I never even heard of Letiche or Parlangua, though I've never read a lot about Cajun folklore besides Rougarou, Peremalfait, and the Cajun version of the Wild Hunt. Oh, and those legends about Jean Lafitte's Black Dogs. Do you know of any websites with information on these critters?Little nervous about the Rougarou. I'm worried that it won't be used to its full potential as a lot of the abilities it had in the myth are beyond what PCs are capable of by default. Kind of similar to how I feel about the Kitsune and Tengu. I think Cynocephali might have been a better choice for the role of PC dog-men.
Still, I'm glad to see it in some form. Nice to see something from Cajun folklore. I'm pleased that the roster of new world creatures is slowly but surely expanding. Another Cajun creature I'd like to see is the Letiche, or Honey Island Swamp Monster. Especially if they use the less down-to-earth version, with reptilian and crustaceal features along with hominid ones. Another is the Parlangua, a near invulnerable crocodilian humanoid with a potential sonic attack.
Parlangua. MMCJawa brought this one to my attention in the Arcadia thread.
Honey Island Swamp Monster/Letiche
In the case of the Letiche, this is actually an older Native American term for a monster that was very similar to the modern HISM cryptid reported by Cajuns. There may not even be a connection between the two, but it's very easy to simply conflate them in order to give the HISM a less clunky name, which would be absolutely necessary here considering that it would exist in settings other than Earth. And I'm almost certain that at least a handful of sightings have described it as having crustacean pinchers, though neither of the websites I linked to have mentioned that. The cartoon Secret Saturdays, which featured numerous B & C list cryptids and folklore creatures featured it that way. Suffice to say I like it better when it isn't just another Sasquatch variant.
Never heard of Peremalfait, but that one's pretty cool. I love moss monsters, and a mossy Bogeyman would be unique considering my personal collective interpretation of Bogeys as a collective group. Thanks for mentioning it, it will be very useful to me, and I hope to see it in the game. I can't seem to find anything on the Cajun Wild Hunt. Got a link?
Thomas Seitz |
Thomas Seitz wrote:Milo,
Uhm Golorian's arch daemons are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. IE Death, Famine, War and Pestilence.
Ugh *facedesk*
Quote:I don't know Golarion lore and stuff.I imagine they'll be the Four Horseman from Golarion, because while the Bestiaries are setting neutral, they are designed for Golarion first and foremost. (Similar to how all of the demon lords and empyreal lords we've gotten so far are prominent in Golarion.)
Fortunately that's what the internet is for! :)
*sings*The Horsemen are drawing near, on leather steeds they ride!
Kalindlara Contributor |
True Alex, but so far no Orcus or Jubliex..
Note that he said "prominent in Golarion". Both of those demon lords are so infamous in D&D that Pathfinder does very little with them, preferring to focus on their own content.
The only reason either of those can even be mentioned by Paizo is because of their inclusion in the Tome of Horrors, which made them Open Content (typo and all). Thus, another likely reason they haven't appeared in the Bestiaries is because their existing statblocks are the only reason they're accessible at all.
Kalindlara Contributor |
It bears mentioning that, if I recall correctly, they include them so that people who prefer them can use them canonically. This is why early mentions of Tiamat are semi-canon, and why Demogorgon's name appears in the first Bestiary. As a recent miniseries proved, that name has a pedigree outside of D&D. (As does Tiamat's, technically.)
If you want to use WotC's Product Identity in home games... they've included just enough linkage that you can do so. ^_^
Luthorne |
Milo: Even if you don't pay attention to Golarion lore, it was mentioned as far back as Bestiary 2:
Undisputed in his power among their kind, each Horseman rules a vast realm upon the bleak plains of Abaddon and a distinctive method of mortal ruin: pestilence, famine, war, or death from old age.
Nightterror |
Thomas Seitz wrote:Milo,
Uhm Golorian's arch daemons are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. IE Death, Famine, War and Pestilence.
Ugh *facedesk*
That is not the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Conquest (or Victory), War, Famine, Death.Quote:I don't know Golarion lore and stuff.I imagine they'll be the Four Horseman from Golarion, because while the Bestiaries are setting neutral, they are designed for Golarion first and foremost. (Similar to how all of the demon lords and empyreal lords we've gotten so far are prominent in Golarion.)
I'm extremely happy they went with Pestilence, that is SO much more interesting than conquest, which I can't seperate from War at all.
I'm afraid this book has very little normal mythology monsters this time around, more P-races, AP/Other Book-re-uses, big-guys, outsiders of all types and normal animal familiars.
Also, many people on facebooks aren't happy with yet another Bestiary, but if it was on them, they would never have released Bestiary 2, 1 would be enough for them, because all the monsters you'll ever need are rainbow dragons, bears mixed with owls and only 4 fey.
Gorbacz |
Gorbacz wrote:I know. At least Dammerich could go LE...:(
Why all the hatin on Dammy?
As a proper, well-conditioned citizen of the United Godless Republiks, Kingdoms and Grand Duchies of Yurp, I find any implication that capital punishment is anywhere within "Good" alignment as abhorrent and insane.
But it's OK, Paizo was smart to balance Empyreal Lords so that AlgaeNymph gets Arshea and Lymnieris while Beckett gets Ragathiel and Damerrich.
Rysky |
Rysky wrote:Gorbacz wrote:I know. At least Dammerich could go LE...:(
Why all the hatin on Dammy?
As a proper, well-conditioned citizen of the United Godless Communist States of Yurp, I find any implication that capital punishment is anywhere within "Good" alignment as abhorrent and insane.
But it's OK, Paizo was smart to balance Empyreal Lords so that AlgaeNymph gets Arshea and Lymnieris while Beckett gets Ragathiel and Damerrich.
Well I will disagree on that but that's all I'm gonna say to avoid this thread getting flamed then salted.
I like the Empyreal Lords.
Petrus Malleus |
"troops of goblins"
Please tell me that there's a troop template :D
This would be appreciated. I loved the troop concepts in Rasputin Must Die! The template would make many low level adversaries more easy-to-use and useful in higher level games without relying on creating smaller groups of class-statted NPCs / monsters. Plus, I just LOVE the good old "few heroes against a throng of enemies" scenario - this would be easy to simulate with troop template without clogging the grid and taking loads of everyone's precious game in turns that go on forever.
In case we don't get the troop template now, in next installments, pretty please?
CBDunkerson |
Thomas Seitz wrote:Milo,
Uhm Golorian's arch daemons are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. IE Death, Famine, War and Pestilence.
Ugh *facedesk*
That is not the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Conquest (or Victory), War, Famine, Death.
If we're going to be picky about it then only one of the horsemen is named in the original text; Death. The other three are merely described, but have been given various names based on those descriptions (and different translations and interpretations thereof) over the centuries.
Granted, the interpretation / naming of the first horseman as 'Pestilence' has only been prominent for a century or so... but after a hundred years of general acceptance the *facedesk*ing seems excessive.
Dragon78 |
I happy to see Krampus, wasn't expecting to see him. I hope they give him a Santa outfit though green would look better then the red one.
I hope there will be a lot of fey, elementals, giants, dragons, and plant creatures.
I hope there will be some proteans, oni, kami, inevitables, aeons, azura, and angels.
Lucus Palosaari |
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Milo v3 wrote:I'm extremely happy they went with Pestilence, that is SO much more interesting than conquest, which I can't seperate from War at all.Thomas Seitz wrote:Milo,
Uhm Golorian's arch daemons are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. IE Death, Famine, War and Pestilence.
Ugh *facedesk*
That is not the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Conquest (or Victory), War, Famine, Death.Quote:I don't know Golarion lore and stuff.I imagine they'll be the Four Horseman from Golarion, because while the Bestiaries are setting neutral, they are designed for Golarion first and foremost. (Similar to how all of the demon lords and empyreal lords we've gotten so far are prominent in Golarion.)
The Horseman of War should more rightly be attached to the concept of "bloodlust" and wanton destruction. War as a bloody, hate-filled, bestial urge.
"Conquest" as a Horseman can have little to nothing to do with "battle" -- instead, it's significantly more about "subjugation" and/or "domination" and real-world history is ripe with examples of "conquest" without real "war." Or War being but a tool in the trade of subjugating and dominating a people.
Going to a place and planting a flag, declaring "This is ours" is an act of conquest that requires resistance to become War, but if you use pestilence and/or disease or even famine to destroy a population, then there's no need for war.
Conquest can best be the "frontman" of the Four Horseman. Even if his leadership of them is tenuous, he's the one wearing a crown and armed with a bow -- a ranged weapon that allows him to sling arrows at his enemies from afar, behind a wall of subjects that will die before he's ever even within range of attack.
Comparatively, I dislike Death being a Horseman. Its not a single thing, its all of them. Isn't war about the death total? Isn't famine about increasing death from starvation? Isn't even pestilence and disease just one more way for us to die? So if you take away violent death (War's domain), and death from need (Famine's domain), and death from disease (Pestilence's domain) -- what unique power should Death retain? In Pathfinder, perhaps undeath and negative energy stuff, but that's kind of stretching the concept.
Alternately, if you're going to keep War and Death, I'd still argue keep Conquest and get rid of Famine for Pestilence. Pestilence can "branch out" a bit, killing a people not just by direct disease but by giving a mold or fungus to destroy plants and crops, poison wells, and so forth. Even the "tool" which Famine is given is hard to make interesting compared to the flaming sword of War and bow of Conquest etc.
No, Conquest is about domination, and even democracies have allowed themselves to let the Horseman of Conquest rear its ugly head in our past (Nazi of Germany and Soviets of Russia conquered their own people without waging 'war' on at least all of them).
Luthorne |
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As I already noted above, in Bestiary 2 it specifies that the Horseman of Death (ie, Charon), rather than being a generic death, is specifically the death that comes with old age. So I presume that Charon will have various aging-related attacks, causing things to wither and die, as well as abilities related to his infamous skiff. And remember, the Four Horsemen are the rulers of the daemons in Pathfinder...
The Four Horsemen
Four dread lords, infamous across all the planes, rule the disparate hordes of daemonkind. Risen from among the ranks of their terrible brethren to displace those fiendish tyrants before them, they are the archdaemons, the End Bringers, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. In the blasphemous annals of fiendish lore, they are the prophesied architects of multiversal ruin, destined to stand triumphant over cadaverous cosmoses and infinities of silence before also giving way to absolute oblivion. Undisputed in his power among their kind, each Horseman rules a vast realm upon the bleak plains of Abaddon and a distinctive method of mortal ruin: pestilence, famine, war, or death from old age. Yet while each archdaemon commands measureless influence, daemons know nothing of loyalty and serve only those they cannot overcome. Thus, though the Horsemen stand peerless in their power and manipulations among daemonkind, they must ever defend their thrones from the machinations of ambitious underlings and the plots of other archdaemons.
Upon the poisonous expanses of Abaddon, lesser daemonic peers carve petty fiefdoms and posture as lords, but despite their world-spanning intrigues, all bow before the Horsemen—though most do so only grudgingly. Ancient myths also tell of a mysterious fifth Horseman, the Oinodaemon, though nearly all mention of such a creature has been scoured from the multiverse.
Lucus Palosaari |
Yeah, Luthorne, I know that much has already been written about the daemonic Four Horseman. In fact, haven't they already stat'd them out in-world with the Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Book of the Damned - Vol 3: Horsemen of the Apocalypse? Why even bother restating and reprinting? They were even named already in Bestiary 4, so those names (for the Horsemen, not the Golarion specific ones) are Open Game Content very likely but I guess demi-god (or whatever their classification would be) stats could be good to have OGL'd.
I was mostly responding to Nightterror's notion that Conquest and War are the same thing. They aren't. Not really. (outside of Pathfinder).
In Pathfinder though, I don't know if a Dread Lord of Famine is really as scary as one that is the voice whispering in every tyrants ear to conquer, conquest, subjugate, and dominate a people for wicked and cruel ends.
Luthorne |
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Nah, they didn't stat them up in that volume of Book of the Damned, that was before mythic rules were out, so they were shying away from statting up demigods in general, I think...though we did get the erodaemon, lacridaemon, obcisidaemon, phasmadaemon, sangudaemon, suspiridaemon, temerdaemon, and venedaemon. But yeah, even if they had been printed before, I think it's good to have access to them in a Bestiary, I know plenty of people stick to the bestiaries, even if others just utilize resources like Archives of Nethys and the d20 Pathfinder SRD. Not to mention, pictures are nice. I totally have all the Books of the Damned myself, along with other Campaign Setting books that suit my tastes, but can't blame people for not wanting to get those, especially if they're not invested in the Golarion setting and aren't the type to scavenge elements.
And, of course, if you have these guys statted up as examples, they could probably serve as inspiration for similar Horsemen, since there will presumably be a Horseman subtype printed up just like we have for all the other demigods of similar abilities, so if your own setting swaps out some or has five or eight or thirteen (lucky lucky thirteen) you'll have a nice starting point if you like...
Eric Hinkle |
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Parlangua. MMCJawa brought this one to my attention in the Arcadia thread.
Honey Island Swamp Monster/Letiche
In the case of the Letiche, this is actually an older Native American term for a monster that was very similar to the modern HISM cryptid reported by Cajuns. There may not even be a connection between the two, but it's very easy to simply conflate them in order to give the HISM a less clunky name, which would be absolutely necessary here considering that it would exist in settings other than Earth. And I'm almost certain that at least a handful of sightings have described it as having crustacean pinchers, though neither of the websites I linked to have mentioned that. The cartoon Secret Saturdays, which featured numerous B & C list cryptids and folklore creatures featured it that way. Suffice to say I like it better when it isn't just another Sasquatch variant.
Thanks for the links! My own personal take on HISM, at least for game purposes, would be to make him a lizard man that's bigger and more savage than usual. Kind of like the Scape Ore Swamp Lizard Man.
Never heard of Peremalfait, but that one's pretty cool. I love moss monsters, and a mossy Bogeyman would be unique considering my personal collective interpretation of Bogeys as a collective group. Thanks for mentioning it, it will be very useful to me, and I hope to see it in the game. I can't seem to find anything on the Cajun Wild Hunt. Got a link?
Peremalfait is best known these days for having been one of the more unusual monsters in the original Kolchak:the Night Stalker. Basically a living nightmare summoned from the dreams of a comatose Cajun, it was sort of like a more human-like shambling mound with an appetite for crushing people to death, and it left pools of stagnant water and swamp weeds behind when it killed people.
As for the Cajun Wild Hunt I'll have to ask a friend of mine who has the only book I ever read that mentioned it; it was pretty rare, being one of those little collections of local legends that he got on his one trip to the Big Easy.
Plausible Pseudonym |
The Horseman of War should more rightly be attached to the concept of "bloodlust" and wanton destruction. War as a bloody, hate-filled, bestial urge."Conquest" as a Horseman can have little to nothing to do with "battle" -- instead, it's significantly more about "subjugation" and/or "domination" and real-world history is ripe with examples of "conquest" without real "war." Or War being but a tool in the trade of subjugating and dominating a people.
Going to a place and planting a flag, declaring "This is ours" is an act of conquest that requires resistance to become War, but if you use pestilence and/or disease or even famine to destroy a population, then there's no need for war.
Conquest can best be the "frontman" of the Four Horseman. Even if his leadership of them is tenuous, he's the one wearing a crown and armed with a bow -- a ranged weapon that allows him to sling arrows at his enemies from afar, behind a wall of subjects that will die before he's ever even within range of attack.
Comparatively, I dislike Death being a Horseman. Its not a single thing, its all of them. Isn't war about the death total? Isn't famine about increasing death from starvation? Isn't even pestilence and disease just one more way for us to die? So...
The daemons are about destroying mortal life and eating their souls, not subjugating them, so Conquest doesn't really fit.