And I echo the call for the return of the rot grub.
How about the ear seeker? The best counter to the cautious, listening scout...
KHAAAAAN!
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
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STEGASAURUS!!! Stegs have been my fave dino since I was 8 years old. Where's the love? Dammit. I'd also like to cast my vote for BOTH their given names AND Fantasy names. 'Cause a Spike Tail Thunder Lizard gives you a pretty good idea what's attacking.
I'd also like to see a construct BASE that I can add and take away from. I want this cause I'd like constructs similair to the iron constructs found in Tamora's Pierce's Squire & Lady Knight. Each was uniquely equipped with weapons though having a shared origin and vulnerability.
One point to note here: with the monster book, there are some MM critters Paizo can't touch due to "product identity" from Wizards. The highest page count of these would be the slaad, then yuan ti, then gith races, beholder and gauth, umber hulk, illithid, displacer beast, carrion crawler, kuo-toa ... I think that's it. The point here being this has already slimmed down the MM list to begin with. If you also take out elves, dwarves and the other humanoid races, that already slims the MM load considerably, so maybe the cuts won't be as bad as some think. Also stick the animated objects with the animate objects spell and that should allow for considerable leeway.
If possible add more dragons and more dinosaurs to the book (true dragons might not be too problematic, since you cover the basics once and then have some detail on each but you don't need to completely reprint EVERYTHING for each type of dragon) (for the dinosaurs, add exemplars for sauropods, ankylosaurs, stegosaurs, and smaller carnosaurs (ceratosaurus, etc)-it's easier to build a creature to higher power levels from a weaker base than take a more powerful creature and depower it to get a weaker variant)-although I'd say leave megaraptor/utahraptor in there because it is allowed as an animal companion currently (I think) but IIRC, advanced versions of creatures are not normally available as animal companions-a revision to that rule might be useful.
Now if some creatures do have to be cut:
-Achaierai
-Ankheg
-Azer
-Belker
-Bodak
-Choker
-Chuul
-Digester
-Drider
-Ettercap
-Frost Worm
-Fungus
-Gibbering Mouther (how did this one get in in the first place-don't like the chaos beast either but the planar tie saves it in my view)
-Gray Render
-Hell Hound and Howler
-Magmin
-Purple Worm
-Remorhaz
-Roper
-Shadow Mastiff
-Spider Eater
-Thoqqua
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And I echo the call for the return of the rot grub.How about the ear seeker? The best counter to the cautious, listening scout...
KHAAAAAN!
Good call ... I had forgotten about them. You only bought a listening cone without the mesh cover once - I think it was a hidden rule that DMs were required to send them buggers after you if you forgot that!
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One point to note here: with the monster book, there are some MM critters Paizo can't touch due to "product identity" from Wizards. The highest page count of these would be the slaad, then yuan ti, then gith races, beholder and gauth, umber hulk, illithid, displacer beast, carrion crawler, kuo-toa ... I think that's it. The point here being this has already slimmed down the MM list to begin with. If you also take out elves, dwarves and the other humanoid races, that already slims the MM load considerably, so maybe the cuts won't be as bad as some think. Also stick the animated objects with the animate objects spell and that should allow for considerable leeway.
If possible add more dragons and more dinosaurs to the book (true dragons might not be too problematic, since you cover the basics once and then have some detail on each but you don't need to completely reprint EVERYTHING for each type of dragon) (for the dinosaurs, add exemplars for sauropods, ankylosaurs, stegosaurs, and smaller carnosaurs (ceratosaurus, etc)-it's easier to build a creature to higher power levels from a weaker base than take a more powerful creature and depower it to get a weaker variant)-although I'd say leave megaraptor/utahraptor in there because it is allowed as an animal companion currently (I think) but IIRC, advanced versions of creatures are not normally available as animal companions-a revision to that rule might be useful.
Now if some creatures do have to be cut:
-Achaierai
-Ankheg
-Azer
-Belker
-Bodak
-Choker
-Chuul
-Digester
-Drider
-Ettercap
-Frost Worm
-Fungus
-Gibbering Mouther (how did this one get in in the first place-don't like the chaos beast either but the planar tie saves it in my view)
-Gray Render
-Hell Hound and Howler
-Magmin
-Purple Worm
-Remorhaz
-Roper
-Shadow Mastiff
-Spider Eater
-Thoqqua
I would honestly would like that list than more dinosaurs. Dinosaurs break the medieval fantasy faster for me than guns do for others. YMMV.
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Mammoths are needed - if you've got a Realm of Mammoth Lords, you need mammoth stats. Keep dinosaurs for our lost worlds.Can we get feathers on our deinonychuses, too?
SECONDED!
also, I agree that, what with the cutting of the IP monsters like flayers and displacers, this MM is already a bit lighter. I think that only a scant handfull of monsters should be cut from the game. Ythraks (dumb), Acherai (dumb), Frost worm (rhemmoraz is much cooler). the Tojanda would have to be replaced with another age-categoried set of elemental creatures, or xorns/arrowhawks/salamanders would have to be cut as well. not a terrible blow, mind you. Bodaks could be tossed out, but leave the mohrgs.
aside from that, I would like to see the inclusion of some of Pathfinders more friggin sweet and "mobile" creatures, like Boggards, Shining Children, Hounds of Tindalos, Goblin snakes and Giant Geckoes, and the Lamia-kin, Gugs, Reefclaws (my players "love" those things as monsters; lots of crazy abilities.)
Not that my opinion is worth much to the Paizo dev's, I'll throw in my 2 cents.
The need for a wide sampling of critters is already noted. I would drop, if anything, the more specialized planar type creatures. Tojanida is already marked, but I'd throw in the other strange elementals along with it (arrowhawk, azer, formians, mephits, rast, xorn, etc) and save those for a planar specific follow-up, or just the PMM2.
Can probably pare down the demons/devils also, but I'm a fan of those. Definately bring back the daemons/yugoloths in all their gory glory!
Additions shouldn't be too specialized to the PF world... I'd think mostly the old school monsters that have dropped off over the years - Froghemoth(!), spriggan, faerie dragon, giant slug...
And I reiterate the need to compile fey under a single heading, with common traits!
Overall, any selection will be great and welcome! I'm looking forward to it... Get Wayne Reynolds to the illustrate the whole bloody thing!! \m/
An outside question, though, for Erik or James - will you send out a "beta" of the monsters for us to playtest/give feedback?
brontosaurus,
Apatosaurus.
Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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An outside question, though, for Erik or James - will you send out a "beta" of the monsters for us to playtest/give feedback?
We will probably leak a few monsters when the time comes, but we probably will not give them the full layout production we've given the Beta.
I love it when I leak monsters.
Does it burn or itch whilst doing so?
Cheers,
Colin
The giant lice certainly do...
A guy who goes by "Callous Jack" should....oh, nevermind.huh?
I'll go out on a limb and assume an Onanistic reference (callous as in calloused hands, the word "jack" etc. etc.)
:) :)
Cheers,
Colin
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A guy who goes by "Callous Jack" should....oh, nevermind.huh?I'll go out on a limb and assume an Onanistic reference (callous as in calloused hands, the word "jack" etc. etc.)
:) :)
Cheers,
Colin
HA! made that joke already, but still funny.
I truly hope to get rid of the Mimic... I mean, I know it's a classic moster, but let's get serious, what kind of ecology a creature that resembles a CHEST can have? Its mimic ability says that the Mimic can assume the general shape of a generic object like a chest, a large bed, a wide door frame... dungeon crawling aside (in a classic dungeon a mimic COULD have learned to take this shapes), in a natural cave or underground what kind of shape a mimic can take? We have no statistics of its natural form !!! I would keep them IF ONLY I could represent them in a more "creaturish" way than that of a large cauldron...
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I truly hope to get rid of the Mimic... I mean, I know it's a classic moster, but let's get serious, what kind of ecology a creature that resembles a CHEST can have? Its mimic ability says that the Mimic can assume the general shape of a generic object like a chest, a large bed, a wide door frame... dungeon crawling aside (in a classic dungeon a mimic COULD have learned to take this shapes), in a natural cave or underground what kind of shape a mimic can take? We have no statistics of its natural form !!! I would keep them IF ONLY I could represent them in a more "creaturish" way than that of a large cauldron...
I agree, the mimic should have a more generic template-feel to it, with adjustments for size categories. Defaulting to the chest is fine, like the default zombie is a human. But we need the other possibilities, just like with animated objects.
I truly hope to get rid of the Mimic... I mean, I know it's a classic moster, but let's get serious, what kind of ecology a creature that resembles a CHEST can have? Its mimic ability says that the Mimic can assume the general shape of a generic object like a chest, a large bed, a wide door frame... dungeon crawling aside (in a classic dungeon a mimic COULD have learned to take this shapes), in a natural cave or underground what kind of shape a mimic can take? We have no statistics of its natural form !!! I would keep them IF ONLY I could represent them in a more "creaturish" way than that of a large cauldron...
Well, unless the whole species was somehow engineered by a sadistic wizard— which I think is the case. Although we could hang on to the mimic by simply allowing it to shape-shift into any inanimate object; tree trunks, rocks, stalactites, etc. That would make good predatory sense.
Now, in a given environment, generations of mimics may learn over time that it's prey-animal (adventurer) gets real stupid when it disguises itself as a treasure chest. I'd say the mimic's preferred camouflage should depend on it's environment, and it should have more options, but the standard mimic has a place in the game, however silly.
I'd say include it, but find something other than a chest for the illustration. Any sort of object that could function as a lure, perhaps in a non-classic dungeon...
I truly hope to get rid of the Mimic... I mean, I know it's a classic moster, but let's get serious, what kind of ecology a creature that resembles a CHEST can have? Its mimic ability says that the Mimic can assume the general shape of a generic object like a chest, a large bed, a wide door frame... dungeon crawling aside (in a classic dungeon a mimic COULD have learned to take this shapes), in a natural cave or underground what kind of shape a mimic can take? We have no statistics of its natural form !!! I would keep them IF ONLY I could represent them in a more "creaturish" way than that of a large cauldron...
Well, the 3.5 stats for the mimic are irregardless of what actual form it takes, so I assume they are its "natural" form. There's no limitation on the different kind of shapes/forms it can take, just approx. 5 x 5 x 6 feet. That can be a chest, or a stalagmite, or a statue, or a pool of green slime. Whatver form should have no effect on its stats.
Advanced mimics can be large and huge, but how does that affect their mimic ability... It should certain expand in dimensions along with the creature. A chart would be helpful...
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HA! made that joke already, but still funny.A guy who goes by "Callous Jack" should....oh, nevermind.huh?I'll go out on a limb and assume an Onanistic reference (callous as in calloused hands, the word "jack" etc. etc.)
:) :)
Cheers,
Colin
Oh...I guess that makes sense...sort of...
...irregardless...
I agree with your post but
[grammar prick] irregardless is not a word. Regardless it a word. Irrespective is a synonym of regardless. Irregardless would mean "without a lack of regard," therefore regarding.[/prick]
I'm sorry but the only thing that bothers me more is "Nuke-ular."
You're totally correct otherwise, thank you for the insight.
I don't know if anybody's mentioned this yet, but I'd like a template to convert monsters to 'minions' ala 4e.
It was one of the few good things to come out of 4e and I don't think it would be too complicated to do. Just a matter of adjusting Attacks, AC & Saves (giving them evasion & mettle, etc) and making their HP=1.
Also, in my group we were discussing a way to make 'tough' minions. Essentially minions that drop after 2 hits or 1 critical hit.
Just one small request concerning pictures: Would it be possible to have only one monster in each picture in a kinda neutral position without any relevant background?
Just one small request concerning pictures: Would it be possible to have only one monster in each picture in a kinda neutral position without any relevant background?
Agreed. Individual portraits are definitely preferred, group shots get in the way of using the PDF to print out the picture and use as a visual aid. You know, a picture is worth 1,000 words, and all that.
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Referring back to dinosaurs and other prehistoric beasts, my votes are for:
Please keep clear of having lots of different genera of similar dinosaurs whose stats only differ slightly, instead just have 'types' of dinosaurs with a stat-block for each size - e.g. Megalosaurus, Allosaurus & Ceratosaurus might as well all be "Large Carnosaur", with maybe a note that Allosaurus may grow large enough to have a couple more HD than Megalosaurus.
I'd prefer to us popular names for these types even if they may not be scientifically accurate, just for ease of recognition, plus having a descriptive name for those who think that using modern taxonomy strains suspension of disbelief* - e.g. the type Apatosaurus (Thunder Lizard) could cover stats for all sauropods and prosauropod, from Medium to Colossal. Everyone knows what a Brontosaurus looks like, even though we're supposed to call them Apatosaurus. Most of the descriptive names can easily follow the English meaning of their taxonomic names.
I'd include lesser sizes to represent small species of dinosaurs or the young of large ones.
Types could include:
Carnosaur (The Butcher?) - Allosaurus and other generic meat-eaters.
Tyrannosaur (Tyrant King) - Albertosaurus, Nanotyrannus, the big T itself).
Apatosaur (Thunder Lizard) as above.
Velociraptor (Terror Claw) - combines the most commonly recognized name (post Jurassic Park) and the rough meaning of 'Deinonychus'. From Tiny (Microraptor[/i]) to Large (Utahraptor).
Stegosaur (Spike Tail)
Ankylosaur (Shield Back?)
Ornithomimus (Ostrich Lizard?)
Triceratops (Horn Face) - for all your Ceratopsian needs.
Therizinosaurus (Scythe Claw) - should the same stats be used for both the (probably herbivorous) Therizinosaurus and the various weird carnivores with big hand-claws, like Megaraptor and Baryonyx?Plus additional types for the various...
Fixed it for you.
Stuff about racial caster levels
I'd go with simply giving them the spell ability of those classes and saving the class features for the levels they actually have, thus your lamia would be a 10th-level caster (5th-level spells and all), but only get 2nd-level domain spells etc.
...irregardless...I agree with your post but
[grammar prick] irregardless is not a word. Regardless it a word. Irrespective is a synonym of regardless. Irregardless would mean "without a lack of regard," therefore regarding.[/prick]
I'm sorry but the only thing that bothers me more is "Nuke-ular."
You're totally correct otherwise, thank you for the insight.
That's funny - I know irregardless isn't a word, but I always use it to annoy grammophiles! :p
I think I'm going to have to vote against this suggestion...
I see where you're coming from, but IMO, the only thing keeping satyrs, gripplis and nymphs separate is the fluff. I think they could benefit from a common background and type traits, along with a delineation of "seelie" (good) and "unseelie" (evil) courts.
If I had any input, I'd get rid of the fey type and make them native outsiders, with ties to the fae courts in Ysgard...
Fey are mechanically quite different from all other creature types: d6 HD, poor BAB, lots of skills. No other creature type is both fragile and skillful, so you'd lose something if fey got changed to another creature type.I'm not sure about the fey but I think giant could be fairly easily rolled into subtypes.
Humanoid (giant)
Ogre
Hill, Fire, Stone, Cloud, etc, GiantsMonstrous Humanoid (giant)
Troll
EttinYou would likely have to modify spells like charm person, if you want to maintain backwards compatibility with existing spell effects.
That was my thought until I remembered how a ranger's favored enemy works. Favored enemy - humanoid (giant) vs. favored enemy monstrous humanoids.
Well, the 3.5 stats for the mimic are irregardless of what actual form it takes, so I assume they are its "natural" form. There's no limitation on the different kind of shapes/forms it can take, just approx. 5 x 5 x 6 feet. That can be a chest, or a stalagmite, or a statue, or a pool of green slime. Whatver form should have no effect on its stats.
Advanced mimics can be large and huge, but how does that affect their mimic ability... It should certain expand in dimensions along with the creature. A chart would be helpful...
I have a fond place for mimics. I used an advanced mimic in the shape of a statue to suprise my players in the past. The fact that they are intelligent and can speak common allows for some interesting encounters.
no to hell with page count I want all 10 classic dragons.