|
Since nobody seems to have started discussing it, What do people think of the Bonus Bestiary released today for free RPG day?
Going through it:
Using the Bestiary; a page and a half of various rules (the other half page is the OGL) - Covers CMB/CMD, posions and diseases, and a number of monster universal rules, including construct plant and undead traits, grab, trip, rake, pounce and trample.
Disarm, sunder and trip take an attack action, bullrush and overrun as part of a move and grapple as a Standard action. Agile maneuvers is mentioned, and all Tiny or smaller creatures use Dex. All bonuses and penalties on an attack roll apply to CMB. CMD is 10+Str+Dex+BAB+Size+(all AC modifiers except armour, nat armour, shield and size), so effectively CMB + touch AC.
Diseases and posions are similar, with each having the attack it comes from, a DC that applies to for contracting them, avoiding repeat damage and for the level check for remove disease or similar. Frequency is split between onset delay and continuing period, and posions will tend to have a number of times they affect you. Effect is what it does, and there's a cure entry for how many save you need to make in a row to avoid it.
Monster rules are interesting, all of them end with a line showing their format (so say 'trample (2d6+9, DC 20)') and their location on the stat block. things that jump out; mind affecting effects are broken down into five; charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns and morale. Undead are imunne to ability drain, but only immune to ability damage on their physical stats.
The thirteen monsters are:
Allip
Ant Lion (both Giant and Mature versions)
Ascomoid
Axe Beak
Caryatid Column
Faerie Dragon
Dragonne
Annis Hag
Huecuva
Lammasu
Water Naga
Nixie
Shadow Mastiff
All creatures have XP values by their CRs, and an entry in Ecology for Treasure Value. These are given as a number of GPs or none, and some have notes (ie the Axe Beak favours 'shiny things'). There are also a number of notes after the descriptive text. There are rules for training an Axe Beak, and rules for taking one as a Animal Companion. These seem to involve it having lowered stats at first level, and advancing to full at 4th.
Construction guidlelines are in the Column, Familiar rules under the Faerie Dragon, Animal Companion rules that also require Leadership for the Dragonne, Advice on creating a Huecuva, Shadow Mastiff summoning guidelines and 'Nixies in Mythology', which give extra abilities and a much darker view of the Nixie to better fit with the dark view of many Fae in traditional mythology. For this last one Thank You Paizo!
Hit dice have also changed, it would seem so that they match BAB:
Undead: d8, Cha*level bonus
Vermin d8
Plant d8
Animal d8
Construct d10
Dragon d12
Magical Beast d10
Monsterous Humanoid d10
Abberation d8
Fey d6
Outsider d10
YES I have no game store doing it eaither, very sad
|
I DMed Pathfinder Society today for Free RPG Day and got three rounds of selection for free stuff. Guess what my 3 items were. :)
Loving the Faerie Dragon: 5-foot cone breath weapon of euphoria is awesome! :)
Loving the Dragonne even more: these "Animal Companions" rules are out of this world, with "Starting Stats" as per the revamped animal companion rules (Beta Plus rules). I hope the Bestiary will be along these lines, with rules for a few extra Animal Companions. If so, I'm in HEAVEN! It builds upon the basic rules, but it adds back the "oomph" high-level selections because let's face it, it's cool to have a flying mount at mid-levels. It rewards those who took Handle Animal and Ride ranks somewhat.
One of my fellow Pathfinders also loves the Allip, as it's one of his fave classics. Can't wait to read the rest!
Please more spoilers for the rest of us!
I didn't want to drive an hour today, that much gas isn't really "free"
For the life of me I cannot figure when the PDF will be available. Anyone have the inside scoop?
Thanks.
I thought somebody somewhere said Monday after noon (Pacific).
Yep....my local Gamestore didn't support it...and the nearest that did was about 80 miles... so to say the least I didn't get it...hopefully it will be made available free for us soon...
What I found most interesting, but hasn't been mentioned anywhere...
Monsters no longer suffer penalties for secondary attacks. There's no such thing as a secondary attack anymore. No -5, no half Strength, no Multiattack feat. Interesting.
Great pick-up, Demiurge.
Director of Games
|
What I found most interesting, but hasn't been mentioned anywhere...
Monsters no longer suffer penalties for secondary attacks. There's no such thing as a secondary attack anymore. No -5, no half Strength, no Multiattack feat. Interesting.
This is not quite true, but the system has been clarified a bit to make it easier to use.
Jason Bulmahn
lead Designer
Paizo Publishing
On another thread they say Monday hopefully by noon PST the pdf and the ability to order a print copy should be up. But regardless I would say sometimes monday for both.For the life of me I cannot figure when the PDF will be available. Anyone have the inside scoop?
Thanks.
Thanks DM.
What I found most interesting, but hasn't been mentioned anywhere...
Monsters no longer suffer penalties for secondary attacks. There's no such thing as a secondary attack anymore. No -5, no half Strength, no Multiattack feat. Interesting.
This is not quite true, but the system has been clarified a bit to make it easier to use.
Jason Bulmahn
lead Designer
Paizo Publishing
How so? The two monsters with multiple attack forms (dragonne and annis hag) had their full attack bonus and damage bonus on the full claw/claw/bite routine.
|
Creative Director
|
How so? The two monsters with multiple attack forms (dragonne and annis hag) had their full attack bonus and damage bonus on the full claw/claw/bite routine.What I found most interesting, but hasn't been mentioned anywhere...
Monsters no longer suffer penalties for secondary attacks. There's no such thing as a secondary attack anymore. No -5, no half Strength, no Multiattack feat. Interesting.
This is not quite true, but the system has been clarified a bit to make it easier to use.
Jason Bulmahn
lead Designer
Paizo Publishing
It'll be more spelled out in the Bestiary... but basically, whether or not a natural attack is primary or secondary is now more or less a property of the type of natural attack in question, be it claw or bite or tail or wing or whatever.
Sorry James, I haven't understood too well your last post...anyway... nevermind... thanks to the OP for the interesting article....these monster entries are THE awesome! O_0
It'll be more spelled out in the Bestiary... but basically, whether or not a natural attack is primary or secondary is now more or less a property of the type of natural attack in question, be it claw or bite or tail or wing or whatever.
So I guess we can infer that claws and bites now always count as primary attacks.
The Bestiary is sure going to be interesting :)
Un....so now the zombies will probably have charisma scores higher than 10? That's a little hard to imagine....
You should be able to download a Free PDF on Sunday or Monday, once FRPGD is finished ...
Check back HERE after Saturday.
HTH,
Rez
Really ? That's great news.
I couldn't get my hands on it yesterday for Free RPG Day, as i was given a random item from my store.So i hope for a PDF.
Have hitpoints and AC been adjusted upwards for the higher CR monsters?
A problem I generally encountered in my campaigns was that at higher levels, players were able to put out several hundreds of points of damage in a round, making fights even against a dragon generally last only about two to three rounds.
Un....so now the zombies will probably have charisma scores higher than 10? That's a little hard to imagine....
I'd put my money on low CHA, with some DR. Note: It makes the Paladin sure to wade through like melting butter (since he can ignore DR).
Any previews on how to build Familiars? Animal companions? Paladin mounts?
Cross-posted from another thread on the Bonus Bestiary :)
***
To satisfy the itch of those folks who couldn't get a copy yesterday, and have to wait for the PDF tomorrow, here's a brief run-down of the goodness within :)
Inside front cover, four columns in small print of an incomplete listing of those monsters to be found in the upcoming Bestiary.
A two page spread on using the Bestiary which includes information on the CMB, CMD, Disease and Poison, and a sampling of the Universal Monster Rules.
Each creature has one page to itself. The picture takes approximately one quarter of the page, with the stat block being nearly a column in length (average). There are two sentences describing the critter, as is done in the Bestiary sections of the APs. As has been mentioned the XP value is spelled out next to the CR, and the Treasure is given as a Gold Piece Value where applicable. The remainder of the page is given to expanded description/information about the beastie in question.
Some of the interesting extras on the monsters:
Giant Ant Lion also gives us the Mature Ant Lion (Giant Lacewing) and the Ant Lion Sand Trap.
Axe Beak gives us information on how to train one and info on one as a Companion.
Caryatid Column gives us construction information.
Faerie Dragon has information on them as a familiar.
Dragonne provides information on them as Mounts and as Companions.
Huecuva tells us how to create one.
Nixies gives us a little Mythology section on how to make the nastier Neck of English and German myth.
Shadow Mastiff tells us how to summon one.
***
I'll be downloading the free PDF on Monday to add to my collection!
|
Un....so now the zombies will probably have charisma scores higher than 10? That's a little hard to imagine....I'd put my money on low CHA, with some DR. Note: It makes the Paladin sure to wade through like melting butter (since he can ignore DR).
Well, not to get too carried away - the paladin ignores DR when activating one of his few prescious Smite Evils. I would bet that this would usually not be used against a zombie in most cases.
Robert
|
Creative Director
|
Un....so now the zombies will probably have charisma scores higher than 10? That's a little hard to imagine....
Or they'll just have Charisma scores of 10 or thereabouts paired with a — for Intelligence. Kind of like how most of the vermin monsters work. (weirdly, the centipedes and scorpions and spiders all have super low Charisma scores, but the rest of the vermin in the MM have scores around 9 to 11... not sure what's up with that.)
|
Creative Director
|
Have hitpoints and AC been adjusted upwards for the higher CR monsters?
A problem I generally encountered in my campaigns was that at higher levels, players were able to put out several hundreds of points of damage in a round, making fights even against a dragon generally last only about two to three rounds.
HP and EVERYTHING has been adjusted. Not necessarily higher for all monsters. After playing 3.5 for so many years, we have a much better idea of what to expect from a monster of a specific CR, after all, and we'll be rebuilding them to match that expectation. And remember... a CR appropriate to an equally leveled party shouldn't be a challenging encounter...that's what CR +3 or so encounters are for.
BUT yes... hit points are adjusting to be more appropriate for their CRs.
|
Creative Director
|
Has the Huecuva been relegated to the benches, because none of the staff can spell it correctly?
Depending on which edition you look at, there are different ways that "spelling it correctly" works out. I think (and hope) we got the correct spelling in there though... if we didn't, well, crap.
Un....so now the zombies will probably have charisma scores higher than 10? That's a little hard to imagine....Or they'll just have Charisma scores of 10 or thereabouts paired with a — for Intelligence. Kind of like how most of the vermin monsters work. (weirdly, the centipedes and scorpions and spiders all have super low Charisma scores, but the rest of the vermin in the MM have scores around 9 to 11... not sure what's up with that.)
Because vermin can be "cute," and insects/arachnids can't? (Real world use of vermin, not game rule use.)
Un....so now the zombies will probably have charisma scores higher than 10? That's a little hard to imagine....
It's got to take quite a bit of force of will to get up in the morning when you're dead you know...
For some reason I'm starting to think that the last few posts should be cross referenced in the "What Undead Are Okay To Find Attractive" thread.
Have hitpoints and AC been adjusted upwards for the higher CR monsters?
A problem I generally encountered in my campaigns was that at higher levels, players were able to put out several hundreds of points of damage in a round, making fights even against a dragon generally last only about two to three rounds.
HP and EVERYTHING has been adjusted. Not necessarily higher for all monsters. After playing 3.5 for so many years, we have a much better idea of what to expect from a monster of a specific CR, after all, and we'll be rebuilding them to match that expectation. And remember... a CR appropriate to an equally leveled party shouldn't be a challenging encounter...that's what CR +3 or so encounters are for.
BUT yes... hit points are adjusting to be more appropriate for their CRs.
Very nice. :) I got a bit discouraged when my players where putting down Pit Fiends in one round at level 16. That should help. :p
|
Director of Games
|
The bonus bestiary is now available for free as a pdf or as a limited number of print copies (for a small fee). Here is the link.
Enjoy.
Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer
Paizo Publishing
yay....Thanks
|
Creative Director
|
Very nice. :) I got a bit discouraged when my players where putting down Pit Fiends in one round at level 16. That should help. :pHave hitpoints and AC been adjusted upwards for the higher CR monsters?
A problem I generally encountered in my campaigns was that at higher levels, players were able to put out several hundreds of points of damage in a round, making fights even against a dragon generally last only about two to three rounds.
HP and EVERYTHING has been adjusted. Not necessarily higher for all monsters. After playing 3.5 for so many years, we have a much better idea of what to expect from a monster of a specific CR, after all, and we'll be rebuilding them to match that expectation. And remember... a CR appropriate to an equally leveled party shouldn't be a challenging encounter...that's what CR +3 or so encounters are for.
BUT yes... hit points are adjusting to be more appropriate for their CRs.
Doesn't mean they won't be able to do that in PFRPG, of course... A 16th level party in 3.5 being able to put down pit fiends in one round feels a bit extreme as it is. :-)