Pathfinder Book of the Dead

** spoiler omitted **

I caught that too! Was a little bummed to see it not integrated i to a specific spot in the setting - in Arcadia someday, with luck!

I grew up with them and the stories of La Llorona.

Woops was posting in wrong thread, but yay this pdf is out :3

... so ... anybody else hearing Geb's words in the late René Auberjonois' voice?

I'm sad ecorche aren't large sized anymore x'D I loved large body model exploding out of medium sized skin

Something I'm curious about whether its choice on purpose or forgetting they are two separate beings: This is second 2e book that makes mention of vetalarana(what 1e called psychic vampire) but not vetala.

Has vetala been phased out in favor of psychic vampires?

I do get why if they did that since they were extremely similar creatures in 1e:

"While most of the Inner Sea’s vampires lust for living blood, the mysterious vetalas hunger for a more intangible force: the energy that infuses mortal minds. Referred to as consciousness or psyche by some, the academics of Vudra— from where most vetalas hail—call this fundamental vital force prana. Regardless of their desire’s name, vetalas prey upon those who show creative promise, possess potent force of will, or seem destined for greatness, draining the most brilliant sources of mortal light to fuel their own unnatural embers. Their dark mastery of life force allows vetalas to possess corpses or even overwhelm the minds of living creatures. With these stolen masks and the resources of abducted lives, they work their foul wills."

compared to psychic vampire

"Much like their more bestial cousins, psychic vampires are undead abominations driven by a terrible hunger. However, unlike vampires and nosferatu, who feed on blood, psychic vampires hunger for the occult energy that fuels the spells of psychic spellcasters. Some scholars confuse psychic vampires with the rare vetala breed of vampires or call them “vetalaranas,” as they steal a more refined form of spiritual energy. For their part, psychic vampires consider vetalas a dying bloodline, and as their own influence increases, they strike against their corpse-possessing kin with impunity."

My main confusion here is that "rana" is a title, so vetalarana sounds like stronger version of "vetala", so it kinda feels weird for it as term to replace vetala completely instead of vetala being base vampire and vetalarana being stronger variant of vetala.

Is Provincial typo'd in your book/PDF too?

any idea when will get the Sanctioning Document?

Twitter announcement

Character options

Adventure sanctioning and chronicle link is in the product information above.

Sooo...my thoughts...I enjoyed the undead slaying material a LOT and also enjoyed the new monsters. My only letdown is there isn't much new material for Dhampirs or undead grafts/symbiotes. Still, it's a wonderful book! Well done Paizo!

I think the two distinct species have just been combined into one and they simply went with the formers name. Psychic Magic seems like it isn't going to be its own type of magic, but more like a means of casting. So it doesn't feel like there is a need to have a distinction anymore.

A few monsters have been seemingly phased out of PF2. So it isn't too surprising here.

Sooo...my thoughts...I enjoyed the undead slaying material a LOT and also enjoyed the new monsters. My only letdown is there isn't much new material for Dhampirs or undead grafts/symbiotes. Still, it's a wonderful book! Well done Paizo!

Maybe waiting for the big book of body modification? ;)

I think the two distinct species have just been combined into one and they simply went with the formers name. Psychic Magic seems like it isn't going to be its own type of magic, but more like a means of casting. So it doesn't feel like there is a need to have a distinction anymore.

A few monsters have been seemingly phased out of PF2. So it isn't too surprising here.

I'm just confused they went with name vetalarana instead of just vetala. Like bestiary 1 mentions vetala, but dhamphirs and this book mentions instead vetalarana. And thing is, vetala IS mythological creature name.

That's fair. It certainly is a strange. It feels a bit like having Asura Rana and no Asura.

Been wondering about this since Dhampirs released as well.

Glad it's not just me, at least.

Been wondering about this since Dhampirs released as well.

Glad it's not just me, at least.

Ya. Back when dhamphirs came out the vetala-born "Ajibachana" vs vetalarana lineage "Adhyabhau" made me think that "huh they are bringing both back" but this book is making me doubt that x'D

I can use the curandero background in PFS2e

I have a question for the designers, Who designed the Darvakka(Nightshades) and how/where did you come up with the new Names for them? Both the Name Darvakka and the individual names.

I really like the design of the ghul, but is there a way to differentiate between them and ghouls in spoken conversation? Similar to efreet/ifrit, they're different spellings of the same Arabic word, so I assume the pronunciation is the same, but maybe I'm wrong.

I really like the design of the ghul, but is there a way to differentiate between them and ghouls in spoken conversation? Similar to efreet/ifrit, they're different spellings of the same Arabic word, so I assume the pronunciation is the same, but maybe I'm wrong.

Either start pronouncing ghoul with o or read ghul with much more dramatic reading each time you do it ;D

I really like the design of the ghul, but is there a way to differentiate between them and ghouls in spoken conversation? Similar to efreet/ifrit, they're different spellings of the same Arabic word, so I assume the pronunciation is the same, but maybe I'm wrong.

I don't know about Ghul/Ghoul, but I pronounce Ifreet as iFREET (like "feet" with an "R" after the "F") and I pronounce Ifrit as i-FRIT with the "IT" part just as I would use "IT" in a sentence; or to put it more simply, I emphasize the short "I" and the long "EE" sounds in those 2 words. I don't know if that is technically correct or not, but it makes things easier for me and my players to differentiate between them and it feels natural to me.

I would probably do something similar with Ghul and Ghoul just for the sake of my own verbal sanity during a game.

GOOL vs GOOOUUL :P

It's a corruption of "Goa'uld" :-)

I have a question for the designers, Who designed the Darvakka(Nightshades) and how/where did you come up with the new Names for them? Both the Name Darvakka and the individual names.

I wrote the section but the names were very much a collaboration, so I can't speak to the inspiration points that others brought to the process, only to the parts of the names I contributed.

When I name things, my typical process is to do portmanteaus (such as with cephalume) or to root around in old forms of words and just noodle around with sounds and letters.

My contributions to the vanyver name came from the old norse vængr which meant "wing" - because this is a winged bat creature! The va- and -r ending stuck around from that inspiration point, but the middle was iterated on until it felt right for the creature.

For the sykever, this one ended up pretty far afield from where I started. Sometimes I'll jot a starting name down and then just kind of change it, one letter at a time, over the course of days or weeks until I'm happy enough not to make any more changes. This name started with válcaeir, which means "walker." With the way this name developed over time, you can start to see a preference forming in the names for certain sounds and letters, though.

Urveth and Nasurgeth... I don't know what to tell you, they just *feel* right. They didn't have inspiration words so much as they worked off the conventions established with the first two, and they just kind of vibe in my brain in the right way. Urveth just conjures the "gaping toothy abyss" vibe for me when I hear it, and Nasurgeth sounds nasty and gross and goopy.

There are lot of interesting details about Geb here :'D

Like, for example, Geb nominally worships Urgathoa (as in he according to his own words "Offers empty prayers to Urgathoa and she feeds upon them"), finds Urgathoan flesh/bone altar/edifice aesthetic macabre and pointless, yet apparently uses Shredskins as flags. Oh and his first ever undead was a skeletal cat that is still in one of his vaults.

(I'm overally bit sad about nightshade art redesign, they still cool but less to my tastes overall. That and D&D almost never uses nigthshades so they are another one of "this is monster that D&D last used in 3rd edition. Let's redesign them to look different" monsters)

(I'm overally bit sad about nightshade art redesign, they still cool but less to my tastes overall. That and D&D almost never uses nigthshades so they are another one of "this is monster that D&D last used in 3rd edition. Let's redesign them to look different" monsters)

Yeah, ditto on Nightshades. They had a very clear aesthetic look in 1e, this shadowy monster that wraps itself in a facsimile of flesh. Looked a little Disney-esque (Heartless especially) with sharp, stylistic curves and angles and vaguely-defined features obscured by the shadowy mist radiating all around them. There's still a little of that here, but they're much more flesh than shadow, in a way that makes them look pretty similar to most other fiends and less unique. The individual designs are cool, but mixed in a crowd with other fiendish creatures, I don't think I'd be able to point to any one of them and say "that's a Nightshade" without foreknowledge. I'm being nitpicky though. The art is gorgeous as always, and I love almost everything about this book.

Prince Setehrael wrote:

I have a question for the designers, Who designed the Darvakka(Nightshades) and how/where did you come up with the new Names for them? Both the Name Darvakka and the individual names.

I wrote the section but the names were very much a collaboration, so I can't speak to the inspiration points that others brought to the process, only to the parts of the names I contributed.

When I name things, my typical process is to do portmanteaus (such as with cephalume) or to root around in old forms of words and just noodle around with sounds and letters.

My contributions to the vanyver name came from the old norse vængr which meant "wing" - because this is a winged bat creature! The va- and -r ending stuck around from that inspiration point, but the middle was iterated on until it felt right for the creature.

For the sykever, this one ended up pretty far afield from where I started. Sometimes I'll jot a starting name down and then just kind of change it, one letter at a time, over the course of days or weeks until I'm happy enough not to make any more changes. This name started with válcaeir, which means "walker." With the way this name developed over time, you can start to see a preference forming in the names for certain sounds and letters, though.

Urveth and Nasurgeth... I don't know what to tell you, they just *feel* right. They didn't have inspiration words so much as they worked off the conventions established with the first two, and they just kind of vibe in my brain in the right way. Urveth just conjures the "gaping toothy abyss" vibe for me when I hear it, and Nasurgeth sounds nasty and gross and goopy.

WOW that sounds really epic.

Thank you Again.

... so ... anybody else hearing Geb's words in the late René Auberjonois' voice?

les pouissant

And the artwork on page 66 is utterly TERRIFYING! Poor, poor Amiri...I never though she could experience such horror...

What happens?

Thrilled that Ramoska Arkminos, one of the funniest NPCs in the game, got a cameo appearance. Put him in more APs, paizo! I'm sure Wes won't mind.

Ravingdork wrote:

And the artwork on page 66 is utterly TERRIFYING! Poor, poor Amiri...I never though she could experience such horror...

What happens?

She's subject to the blood tears haunt, causing her to weep blood at the sight of a spirit gouging its eyes out, while lacking the Diplomacy or Religion skills needed to do anything other than suffer the bleed damage. So she's crouched in a pool of her own blood. Very grand guignol.

Kevin Mack wrote:

Ravingdork wrote:

And the artwork on page 66 is utterly TERRIFYING! Poor, poor Amiri...I never though she could experience such horror...

What happens?

She's subject to the blood tears haunt, causing her to weep blood at the sight of a spirit gouging its eyes out, while lacking the Diplomacy or Religion skills needed to do anything other than suffer the bleed damage. So she's crouched in a pool of her own blood. Very grand guignol.

Interesting any Lini art in the book?

Interesting any Lini art in the book?

Unfortunately, I did not find any on my most recent review of the text.

Thrilled that Ramoska Arkminos, one of the funniest NPCs in the game, got a cameo appearance. Put him in more APs, paizo! I'm sure Wes won't mind.

He did? :O

Which class would make a better hallowed necromancer? Wizard? Cleric? Sorcerer?

Folks,

I am happy to announce that content from Book of the Dead has been added in the latest build of TOS 2nd PRO edition!

Check out the Release Notes for all the details.

Happy Gaming!

TOS Admin
The Only Sheet

No grave knight archetype? :(

Grankless wrote:

Thrilled that Ramoska Arkminos, one of the funniest NPCs in the game, got a cameo appearance. Put him in more APs, paizo! I'm sure Wes won't mind.

He did? :O

Comte Tiriac gets a little writeup in the Ustalav section, and of course Ramoska comes up.

Which class would make a better hallowed necromancer? Wizard? Cleric? Sorcerer?

"Better" is extremely subjective, but either a necromancer wizard or a cleric with the death domain can get more out of the archetype with less feat investiture -- a sorcerer (or cleric or wizard other than those two) has to take both Hallowed Initiate and Advanced Hallowed Spell twice in order to get all the benefits.

Terevalis Unctio of House Mysti wrote:

Which class would make a better hallowed necromancer? Wizard? Cleric? Sorcerer?

"Better" is extremely subjective, but either a necromancer wizard or a cleric with the death domain can get more out of the archetype with less feat investiture -- a sorcerer (or cleric or wizard other than those two) has to take both Hallowed Initiate and Advanced Hallowed Spell twice in order to get all the benefits.

That is what I was looking at as well.

Come to that, a bones oracle who took Domain Acumen for death would also have an easier time of it, though not as much as the first two.

So, love the book. Really interesting. Is there any way we might get a map of Fiorna's Faith without the map tags?

And also I'd like decent resolution PDF versions of the maps in March of the Dead for use in VTT please.

So, love the book. Really interesting. Is there any way we might get a map of Fiorna's Faith without the map tags?

If you use TokenTool (Free) you can pull images from the PDF and this map wont have the tags. It'll have the campus at the bottom right but nothing else.

For anyone that is thinking of getting a non-mint copy of this. I thought I would share my thoughts, this is not a true review as I am only going to talk about the non-mint condition.

I have searched the book over and honestly I can't even find a scratch on the corner. Got the new treasure vault book at the same time and they both seem to be in the same condition. Got 3 other non-mint books as well, another is like this where I can't find a issue. The other two have minor issues. So if you are on a budget the non-mints are worth picking up.

TIt's about disrupting the cycle of souls and damaging the fabric of reality (according to Phrasma at least.)

I don't trust Phrasma because she has a vested interest in the "flow of souls." I mean, what if we have a culture that reveres undead in a completely normal, non-evil, way?

I remember seeing this in a GURPS product where a Christian sect in Banestorm celebrated creating undead because of "Saint Lazarus" and it was in fact a sacrament to create the skeletal workforce.

Michelle A.J. wrote:

TIt's about disrupting the cycle of souls and damaging the fabric of reality (according to Phrasma at least.)

I don't trust Phrasma because she has a vested interest in the "flow of souls." I mean, what if we have a culture that reveres undead in a completely normal, non-evil, way?

I remember seeing this in a GURPS product where a Christian sect in Banestorm celebrated creating undead because of "Saint Lazarus" and it was in fact a sacrament to create the skeletal workforce.

It is my understanding that Pharasma does not care one bit whether undead do good or do evil. She just wants them all gone.

Noven wrote:

Michelle A.J. wrote:

TIt's about disrupting the cycle of souls and damaging the fabric of reality (according to Phrasma at least.)

I don't trust Phrasma because she has a vested interest in the "flow of souls." I mean, what if we have a culture that reveres undead in a completely normal, non-evil, way?

I remember seeing this in a GURPS product where a Christian sect in Banestorm celebrated creating undead because of "Saint Lazarus" and it was in fact a sacrament to create the skeletal workforce.

It is my understanding that Pharasma does not care one bit whether undead do good or do evil. She just wants them all gone.

Yeah, which is kinda messed up because 99% of undead, either intelligent or mindless, did not choose to become undead.

The main thing is that she doesn't seem to mind if they are restored to life and she does allow them to peacefully go to death by fulfilling their last regrets. Main thing she doesn't accept is perpetually existing as undead I think?

The main thing is that she doesn't seem to mind if they are restored to life and she does allow them to peacefully go to death by fulfilling their last regrets. Main thing she doesn't accept is perpetually existing as undead I think?

What Pharasma cares about is the recycling of souls that powers the existence of reality. Undead souls are not recycled as long as they exist.

Is there any chance of seeing a Pawns collection for this book? I'd really love to get the new monsters from this book into pawn bases for my players.
If it seems like there's not enough for a full run just from this book, please consider putting in some large numbers of "Weak" or "Aspect" ghosts, skeletons, zombies, etc for the Necromancers' summoning. I'm thinking of a specific PFS scenario where there can be 3 Necromancers, each summoning up to 4. It would be great to have numerous basic undead in 1 collection instead of having to raid multiple boxes/packs and my Beginner Boxes.

Just my pair of coppers.