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D&D has such famous creatures as the rust monster, beholder, and the mind flayer. What creature(s), do you think, are/should be the iconic monster for the Pathfinder RPG? Off the top of my head, I'd include:
1) Golarion Goblin
2) Golarion Ogre
3) Golarion Elf
4) Golarion Gnome (Need splat book. NOW.)
I dare say, these are merely flavors of other, older monsters from games and editions that have come before.
We can't just slap some horns or an extra toe on something and give it a name with local flavor then call it iconic.
To select a Pathfinder iconic monster, it would have to be something that never existed in previous games.
Unfortunately, while I may be able to help define what "iconic" should mean, I have very little exposure to the Pathfinder game world since our use of the beta rules has been within our own campaign worlds.
But I look forward to the suggestions.
Lamia Matriarch?
Akatas? :)
Rune giants!
Putting the giant back into giant.
And there will be lots of cool outsiders.
Did someone ask for an iconic monster?
While I like all the creatures and re-envisionings that have been brought up, I've got to go with DM Blake's thinking here. Further, these iconic monsters of D&D weren't immediately obvious, they emerged over time. Pathfinder's icons will also have to emerge over time. And I hope that we all enjoy every moment of it. So while I don't have any guesses or nominations on my mind right now, I'm going to enjoy the speculation.
While I like all the creatures and re-envisionings that have been brought up, I've got to go with DM Blake's thinking here. Further, these iconic monsters of D&D weren't immediately obvious, they emerged over time. Pathfinder's icons will also have to emerge over time. And I hope that we all enjoy every moment of it. So while I don't have any guesses or nominations on my mind right now, I'm going to enjoy the speculation.
I have to agree. Not trying to spoil the fun, but any guess I make just leads me back to the fact that Paizo's re-envisioning of the D&D world is what is iconic, not that anything in their world is significantly new.
When a game evolves but stays true to it's roots, the same icons you had before are still iconic, they just feel waaaay cooler. For myself, I think this is in large part due to great artists that have grown up with D&D since they were little.
What creature(s), do you think, are/should be the iconic monster for the Pathfinder RPG?
With Burnt Offerings, Mr. Jacobs has given the goblin the most unique spin of any low level monster, ever!
A thought I had today, somewhat going against my earlier stream of thought:
Is it possible to plan an iconic monster? If it is a reasonable possibility, wouldn't it be great if Paizo was able to craft an awesome monster over a period of time way in advance, order art and a miniature (or miniatures) for that monster, and plan its simultaneous launch in more than one venue? (AP, Module, more GM info in Chronicles, Player info in Companion, miniature, etc)
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wouldn't it be great if Paizo was able to craft an awesome monster over a period of time way in advance, order art and a miniature (or miniatures) for that monster, and plan its simultaneous launch in more than one venue? (AP, Module, more GM info in Chronicles, Player info in Companion, miniature, etc)
It would be a pretty good laugh as it would then promptly come to be reviled or quickly forgotten by the fans.
You can't plan greatness.
Yeah...that's pretty much in line with my earlier position. I imagine how great it would be to get a package in the mail, flip back to the AP bestiary, read up on the supercool, mega-awesome new monster while the shiny new mini sits on the table in front of me...
And Croc takes forever to make with the minis. By the time I get them and then get my daughter to paint them...wow. Well, I guess it's good I'm planning on RotRL way in the future.
With Burnt Offerings, Mr. Jacobs has given the goblin the most unique spin of any low level monster, ever!
Yes. From the earliest days of Pathfinder, they have summed up that which is the same, yet different about Golarion.
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Is it possible to plan an iconic monster?
WotC has made several attempts at doing just that, with races like the Shadar-kai, which were hoped to have the same 'traction' as races like the Drow or Githyanki, and yet be purely WotC Intellectual Property and not holdovers from Gary Gygax or Charles Stross (and / or George R R Martin).
I'm not sure it's a great idea to try that. Some things will catch on (tieflings), other things will have surprisingly niche popularity (modrons) and still others will languish in oblivion, in some cases perhaps deservedly, in some cases, perhaps unfairly (aarakocra, hordelings, qullan, nerra, desmodu). If a race or monster is to be designed at all, it should be to fill a specific story niche or out of love by the creator, not as part of some soulless marketing gimmick to try to find 'the new Drizzt.'
The Fiend Folio threw a bunch of critters at an audience hungry for beasties not in the original Monster Manual, and some of them 'found traction,' while others flailed about, or served a more limited audience. That's probably the best way to find the 'next illithid,' by just allowing creative sorts to do what they do, and seeing which ones strike a chord with the readers, rather than try to manufacture popularity like the gaming equivalent of the Backstreet Boys.
Well, Set, that's not exactly the vision I had behind the word "plan"...are there any soulless corporate types at Paizo? Even in my most unrealistic moment, I was dreaming about a process in which "creative types would be doing their thing," over an extended period of time, in conjunction with thinking about and working on setting, an adventure path, etc. (Maybe that somehow did not come across. I certainly did not have in mind producing "the next Drizzt." I had in mind a plan that would put more gaming resources in my hand at the same time when they're needed, and putting more profit in Paizo's coffers.)
But your examples of monster-flops past from the game are partly behind the kind of thinking I was doing up-thread about picking what would be the iconic monsters for Pathfinder. Yep, there's some real yawners and stinkers there in your object lessons.
Another (related) object lesson might be found closer to home: Paizo's revisioning of old monsters. Goblins went bananas, ogres went over big, the gnolls? Well, you can't say that gnolls failed, because they're a successful monster being put to good use in the newest AP. I don't feel any great re-invigoration when it comes to gnolls, however, and I don't particularly see the signs of it in the community like I do with the goblins and ogres. The only thing I can think of that makes gnolls distinct is Lamashtu...who herself might well end up being an iconic part of the setting. And then there's personal favorites--I think the Paizo bugbear is far superior to the traditional D&D bugbear, but I don't that everyone is as excited about it as I am. Could all of this been predicted by the staff with any reasonable accuracy? If not, then our pessimism about this kind of focus would be justifiably absolute.
There are a couple of monsters that I think could reach iconic status for Pathfinder, they just need the right adventure.
The Serpentfolk are a good example of a organized hidden threat. Even in small numbers, they are a danger. I personally would love to see then used as the hidden motivators much like the Drow were in the G/D/Q series for 1e.
That said, you really cannot plan what monsters are going to grab people's attention. The Modrons were unremarkable until Planescape turned them into the quirky creatures I love.
There are a couple of monsters that I think could reach iconic status for Pathfinder, they just need the right adventure.
The Serpentfolk are a good example of a organized hidden threat. Even in small numbers, they are a danger. I personally would love to see then used as the hidden motivators much like the Drow were in the G/D/Q series for 1e.
That said, you really cannot plan what monsters are going to grab people's attention. The Modrons were unremarkable until Planescape turned them into the quirky creatures I love.
With Burnt Offerings, Mr. Jacobs has given the goblin the most unique spin of any low level monster, ever!
Another vote for the GG here!
I'm hoping for a naga - serpentfolk connection.
And I'm crazy happy that the new lolthbound goblins look a lot like Paizo goblins.
I want to see something done with kobolds. However, to me drow became the iconic villan with Second Darkness. Those are the drow I have been waiting my whole life for.
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And I'm crazy happy that the new lolthbound goblins look a lot like Paizo goblins.
What lolthbound goblins?
Sorry, the goblin minis in the Demonweb set.
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But your examples of monster-flops past from the game are partly behind the kind of thinking I was doing up-thread about picking what would be the iconic monsters for Pathfinder. Yep, there's some real yawners and stinkers there in your object lessons.
My sarcastic streak gets ahead of me again. I like some of those 'stinkers,' and picked them just as examples of monster races that didn't really take off. :) (Not all of them 'though. I may like the Aarokocra about seventy billion times more than the Raptorans, but the Desmodu never really did it for me...)
