Pathfinder Lost Omens: Monsters of Myth

3.5 stars. Brimming with imagination, this book is a GM's playground, and the first Lost Omens title I read from cover to cover. However, it's held back by a few editing errors and not making the most efficient use of its incredibly tight page count.

HITS. By far, the greatest strength of this book is how much personality it packs into each monster without stifling GM creativity. Each creature's section opens up with a short work of fiction, followed by a general description of its appearance and behavior, speculations on its origins, and how it relates to its surroundings and the people who live there. But the real triumph here is the lavish detail given to each stat block, which does a great job paying off all the build-up provided by the previous pages. Some even have alternate mechanics attached, emphasizing the flexible roles these creatures can play without sacrificing what makes them pop. Reading this book was lots of fun, as both flavor and mechanics work together to make each monster feel impactful enough to cast as the centerpiece of an adventure.

The monsters themselves are delightfully diverse, covering multiple levels, tones, geographical locations, and degrees of threat. You could throw a dart at a map of Golarion (or even our own Earth!), and there'd be a rockstar monster nearby. Their tales range from terrifying and bizarre to somber and sympathetic, and each has enough flare to spice up nearly any campaign, regardless of whether the party actually faces them down directly.

I also really liked the in-universe writing and artistic depictions of the monsters. It made them feel like a genuine part of the world (although none are so specific that they couldn't be lifted into another setting). The variety of TYPES of text--letters, poems, works of fiction, and so on--helped each chapter feel fresh, in addition to setting up tone and genre expectations for the monster that followed.

MISSES. There are three main weaknesses that hold Monsters of Myth back from being a surefire recommendation. First, there are a couple very obvious errors that repeat often enough for me to wonder if someone in formatting or editing was asleep at the wheel. For example, the text cuts off in multiple places without being continued on the next page, and Bestiary 6--a PF1e book--is repeatedly cited as a source for how to apply the Elite/Weak template (the correct citation is Bestiary, PAGE 6). There were also a few typos and passages with clunky wording, but the cut-off text and incorrect citations stood out the most because they kept happening.

Second, given how short this book is, the "how to use" sections feel like repetitive wastes of space. I think bullet-point lists of adventure prompts would have been of much higher value, rather than spending multiple paragraphs on a singular adventure outline that more or less just summarizes what was already in the lore or alternate abilities text. I also got a little irritated with the amount of "just homebrew it" suggestions that came up in reference to mechanics, locations, or creatures that have yet to be implemented in PF2e. Maybe suggestions for reskinning existing creatures or items would have been more appropriate?

But the biggest thing holding MoM back is its length. For such a short tome that only highlights 20 monsters, the asking price feels a bit steep. Granted, I know profit margins in the industry are narrow, but the entries provided were so fascinating and flavorful that I can't help but want more. On the bright side, this makes it a quick and easy read.

WISHES. I desperately want to see a follow-up to this book, as the actual content was incredible; it was mostly held back by its brevity and a few editing errors. Perhaps said follow-up could include a couple one-shots and maps as drop-in options for existing campaigns, both to allow GMs to use the book right away, and to provide examples that newer GMs can follow in their own adventure creation. I'd be more than happy to pay extra for a beefier page count, so long as that page count is utilized well.

This is the book that I wish Legends had been. Each legendary monster entry had me thinking about the campaigns I could run with the hooks and lore I was being given in a way the Legends book just didn't. More like this, please!

I would have liked to have seen more lower level "monsters of myth". The Sandpoint Devil and Spring Heeled Jack were the only ones included. Alternately putting statblocks for the "Spawn of _________" might have fulfilled the same purpose - giving lower level parties something to fight.

If you don't get above level 10, this book is of limited utility sadly.

I was wondering about if I'm biased or something because I inherently like this book a lot, but I realized what it is: It reminds me of the 3.5 Elder Evil books(admitedly only 3.5 D&D book I've read) that is one of my favorite similar style books ever :'D I just love the focus on singular creature and how to form story around them.