Pathfinder NPC Core

Is this really coming out before the lost omens book?

Which Lost Omens book? Rival Academies has the same release date as this

Yeah and we haven't had any previews about NPC Core and I'm a lot more interested in this

Are there plans for an Foundry VTT version?

All rulebooks get entered into Foundry for free. If you're asking about a token pack, nothing has been announced, but it would be surprising if they don't make a pack.

Are there plans for an Foundry VTT version?

A Foundry token pack for this will be released on the same day, March 5th! The NPC Core token pack will not only map tokens onto all of the new NPC Core statblocks, but it will also add all of its NPC tokens to the existing Pathfinder Tokens: Characters module library if you have it installed!

Will there be a sketch cover? (Is sketch cover a standard option from now on?)

Please papa Paizo?

Mythraine wrote:

Will there be a sketch cover? (Is sketch cover a standard option from now on?)

Please papa Paizo?

Yes, and you can find it here!

So many NPCs, I can't wait to read through.

Any chance there will be a FoundryVTT module for this? I'm happy to pay for a Foundry implementation.

For your answer, look four posts above your own.

Business Savvy When making monetary deals, the loan shark gets a +8 circumstance bonus to Deception checks, Diplomacy checks, and their Perception DC.

I've never seen a +8 bonus anywhere before. Is this a typo, or should we expect more of this in the future?

NPC CORE, p19 wrote:

Business Savvy When making monetary deals, the loan shark gets a +8 circumstance bonus to Deception checks, Diplomacy checks, and their Perception DC.

I've never seen a +8 bonus anywhere before. Is this a typo, or should we expect more of this in the future?

Thats probably a mechanic that makes the loan shark better-than-level at its one thing its supposed to be functionally higher level at.

NPCs are explicitly not built 1-for-1 with PC rules, so big bonuses at relatively early levels don't surprise me.

Ooo Mark Seifter is a main author for the book. Nice!

Ooo Mark Seifter is a main author for the book. Nice!

I believe it's because... he was the author of the original NPCs from the GMG that are also present here. Which makes him the author with the most stat blocks done for this book still probably.

Maggard wrote:

Are there plans for an Foundry VTT version?

...it will also add all of its NPC tokens to the existing Pathfinder Tokens: Characters module library if you have it installed!

You mean this one, right?

https://paizo.com/products/btq056ko?Pathfinder-Tokens-Character-Gallery

I've been on the fence about picking that up, and now I think you just convinced me to grab it!

Question, I have the Monster Core token pack for Foundry VTT, will that also utilize the library module once I install the Character Gallery?

WWHsmackdown wrote:

Ooo Mark Seifter is a main author for the book. Nice!

I believe it's because... he was the author of the original NPCs from the GMG that are also present here. Which makes him the author with the most stat blocks done for this book still probably.

Mark didnt write all the NPCs in the Gamemastery Guide, and wasn't even the dev who assigned those sections. Stephen Radney-Macfarland assigned the NPC sections in the Gamemastery Guide, and I personally wrote the laborer NPCs that were reprinted and expanded on in NPC Core.

Further, I'd be astonished if Mark didn't still freelance for Paizo, even while employed at Roll For Combat. Most folks in the industry work with multiple companies.

You mean this one, right?

https://paizo.com/products/btq056ko?Pathfinder-Tokens-Character-Gallery

I've been on the fence about picking that up, and now I think you just convinced me to grab it!

Question, I have the Monster Core token pack for Foundry VTT, will that also utilize the library module once I install the Character Gallery?

Glad I could help you in your decision! There are currently no plans to integrate the Monster Core module with the Character Gallery, but if there's interest, it's something we'd consider!

jbuettler wrote:

You mean this one, right?

https://paizo.com/products/btq056ko?Pathfinder-Tokens-Character-Gallery

I've been on the fence about picking that up, and now I think you just convinced me to grab it!

Question, I have the Monster Core token pack for Foundry VTT, will that also utilize the library module once I install the Character Gallery?

Glad I could help you in your decision! There are currently no plans to integrate the Monster Core module with the Character Gallery, but if there's interest, it's something we'd consider!

Thank you for the reply! I can assure you, there is definitely interest, hehe.

Follow-up question, has there been any talk at Paizo about releasing token packs for the creatures featured in Rage of Elements, Howl of the Wild, etc.? If not, I'd be happy to do them if Paizo is hiring! :)

Thank you for the reply! I can assure you, there is definitely interest, hehe.

Follow-up question, has there been any talk at Paizo about releasing token packs for the creatures featured in Rage of Elements, Howl of the Wild, etc.? If not, I'd be happy to do them if Paizo is hiring! :)

Yes actually, but there are a few complicating factors the team is currently still working on!

To help one of our decisions, I'd like to ask you a question! In a perfect Foundry world, would you personally prefer small packs that drop regularly alongside our new books and contain maybe a few dozen tokens at most, like a Howl of the Wild pack or a Rage of Elements pack, OR would you prefer larger packs that drop at predetermined intervals, like a 2024 pack or an Adventure Paths pack?

Yes actually, but there are a few complicating factors the team is currently still working on!

To help one of our decisions, I'd like to ask you a question! In a perfect Foundry world, would you personally prefer small packs that drop regularly alongside our new books and contain maybe a few dozen tokens at most, like a Howl of the Wild pack or a Rage of Elements pack, OR would you prefer larger packs that drop at predetermined intervals, like a 2024 pack or an Adventure Paths pack?

Honestly, I think that there would be a market for all of the above. Speaking only for myself, in a perfect Foundry world, I would love having smaller token packs that release alongside the rulebooks (like what Paizo is doing for the the upcoming NPC Core rulebook). Having the smaller packs would essentially act as another layer of organization in Foundry to keep track of all the tokens I have purchased so far. Furthermore, if they integrated them into the Character Gallery module's search function there could be a tag/filter for each book the GM has purchased. So, if the GM wanted to search only for monsters in "Rage of Elements," they just click the necessary tag/filter and, boom, there's all the creatures that only show up in "Rage of Elements!" For the sake of organization and simplicity, Paizo could even treat these smaller packs as so-called "Monster Core expansions" if that makes sense. So, in my mind, the naming convention would look something like the following:

1.) Pathfinder Tokens: Monster Core - Rage of Elements Expansion Pack
2.) Pathfinder Tokens: Monster Core - Howl of the Wild Expansion Pack

And so on...

This way, at the end of the year, you could essentially hit two birds with one stone and sell these smaller packs as a bundle. Like you said, you could call it something like the "2024 Token Pack Bundle" and when the customer clicks on it, it takes them to a page that shows them the breakdown of what's in the bundle (i.e. "This bundle includes: Pathfinder Tokens: Monster Core - Rage of Elements Expansion Pack" etc.). That way, it gives customers the option to either buy them individually, or say "You know what, I think I'll wait, because I know Paizo will release these all at the end of the year in a bundle."

As far as adventure path packs go, since the Foundry APs Paizo releases already have all those tokens in them, it might be a bit redundant. However, that being said, I'm sure there would be an audience for standalone packs.

I would *love* token packs for the APs that happened *before* the official modules though.

Big thank you to both of you for providing your input on this! It's always helpful to us to find out what is most wanted! We'll take it into consideration. ^_^

Will this book contain guidelines for converting any Medium-sized creature into a Troop? I'd really like a convenient way to build an encounter with a swarm of any kind of monster from the Bestiary.

OK, this is SO much more than just a bunch of NPC stats. Lists of problems for magical academics (including the school's familiars unionizing). Things that certain deities consider blasphemous in their followers. Noble titles and how to construct heraldic symbols. A list of low-level criminals and their bounties. Popular plays and songs for performers. List of forbidden books that scholars may have with the number of nations that ban each. Hobgoblin hobbies. This is awesome!

I've always been interested in heraldry. I wonder how accurate (in terms of English and/or mainland European heraldry -- they're different) this implementation will be. Looking forward to reading it when I have time.

I've always been interested in heraldry. I wonder how accurate (in terms of English and/or mainland European heraldry -- they're different) this implementation will be. Looking forward to reading it when I have time.

Heads up on this, it isn't a heraldic rule set. It's a series of lists of images that can go together and can be rolled on to create symbols that look like heraldry. If you want heraldry rules, you could use your own knowledge. It's all surface, any depth has to be GM provided.

I've noticed that the bookmarks in the PDF for this book have a problem: all bookmarks for the NPC sections are folded in under the "Artisans" bookmark. Is it possible to get this fixed in a future update?

Ed Reppert wrote:

I've always been interested in heraldry. I wonder how accurate (in terms of English and/or mainland European heraldry -- they're different) this implementation will be. Looking forward to reading it when I have time.

Heads up on this, it isn't a heraldic rule set. It's a series of lists of images that can go together and can be rolled on to create symbols that look like heraldry. If you want heraldry rules, you could use your own knowledge. It's all surface, any depth has to be GM provided.

I see. Oh, well. :-(

Will this book contain guidelines for converting any Medium-sized creature into a Troop? I'd really like a convenient way to build an encounter with a swarm of any kind of monster from the Bestiary.

It doesn't have any rules like that, but it does have lots of wonderful troops that will be great for your games!

I've noticed that the bookmarks in the PDF for this book have a problem: all bookmarks for the NPC sections are folded in under the "Artisans" bookmark. Is it possible to get this fixed in a future update?

Thanks for letting us know about this! The team will look into it as soon as they are able!

Will this book contain guidelines for converting any Medium-sized creature into a Troop? I'd really like a convenient way to build an encounter with a swarm of any kind of monster from the Bestiary.

TBF, most of the time, teh "best" way to do it would be to look at available troops, find the one that sound would fit, rename it and setup an appropriate token. xD

I tried to leave a review, but I took to long and I timed out. Short version: wahoo! I needed this book. Why wasn't it longer?

Maggard wrote:

Are there plans for an Foundry VTT version?

A Foundry token pack for this will be released on the same day, March 5th! The NPC Core token pack will not only map tokens onto all of the new NPC Core statblocks, but it will also add all of its NPC tokens to the existing Pathfinder Tokens: Characters module library if you have it installed!

Is this released yet? Anyone got a link ready?

Patience padawan, Paizo's general working day starts at 9 am Pacific time, which is still an hour and a half away. I wouldn't expect this until later in the afternoon, because the Foundry system hasn't even pushed its update with NPC Core yet for this to tie to. They need to have the NPCs available for the mapping file to attach the art to before they can make this available.

Yeah. Wait for the “Find Your Path” post today, it’ll have the link to the module most likely

Holy cow, the number of little details jam packed in the Ancestry NPC section! This is an absolutely treasure trove and those worried it would just be human NPCs should be reassured: not only are there ancestry specific NPCs, there is a massive amount of worldbuilding in this book too.

Is this released yet? Anyone got a link ready?

Unfortunately, we've run into a few minor last-minute production snags that are likely going to push the release of Pathfinder Tokens: NPC Core out until sometime next week.

Our hope and intention was to release today alongside the book itself, but we also really want to avoid the issues we ran into with the initial release of the Monster Core pack last summer, so we're going to be taking a little bit of extra time to make sure we can deliver the most polished product possible right out of the gate.

Sorry for the delay. We know a lot of folks have been really looking forward to this (I'm one of them), but I can also assure you that when it releases, it'll be worth the wait!

Is the token pack going to have all brand new images or will it have some/full overlap with the existing Character Gallery module?

There's overlap with the images in NPC Core so there will be overlap in the token pack too

Is the token pack going to have all brand new images or will it have some/full overlap with the existing Character Gallery module?

Pathfinder Tokens: NPC Core will include portrait and token art for every statblock in the NPC Core book, most of which are brand new, although there are a small number of pickups from the pre-Remaster Gamemastery Guide which were already included in the Pathfinder Tokens: Character Gallery pack. Notably, this includes art for statblocks that don't actually have art in the book itself, so if you've been unable to sleep since the book released, tossing and turning as you try to imagine what a Court Historian or an Iruxi Masked Mummer are actually supposed to look like, I have good news for you!

The delay is sad but understandable. It must be a lot of work for everyone and I'd rather people pace themselves while delivering a good product versus crunching, I can wait a week

That being said, it's exciting to see it'll have art not in the book! Do you have a ballpark of how much art it comes with?

It's a little odd that this book describes the Kellids as pale the same month the Sarkorian Kellids of Lost Omens: Rival Academies are shown as quite dark-skinned. I don't know that I'd call Kevoth-Kul (LO: Legends) or the folk in Quest for the Frozen Flame pale, either.

Fair critique, although noteworthy that 1 or 2 previous second edition books have described Kellids as tan or light brown while plenty of art shows lighter-skinned Kellid characters. I think it's meant to be kind of a range.

Unfortunately, we've run into a few minor last-minute production snags that are likely going to push the release of Pathfinder Tokens: NPC Core out until sometime next week.

Our hope and intention was to release today alongside the book itself, but we also really want to avoid the issues we ran into with the initial release of the Monster Core pack last summer, so we're going to be taking a little bit of extra time to make sure we can deliver the most polished product possible right out of the gate.

Sorry for the delay. We know a lot of folks have been really looking forward to this (I'm one of them), but I can also assure you that when it releases, it'll be worth the wait!

Hey, not for nothing, but if Paizo is ever looking for people to help with data input or anything to that effect, I love doing that stuff and would be more than happy to assist.