This is my 1,000th post on the boards. Now, that's about 1/9 James's number, but what's the point of competing with a computer? So, in light of the additional digit and numerous zeros, I figured this should be significant post. So I'm opening it up. What monsters do you want to see in Pathfinder? Either in Pathfinder's Bestiary, or in a pseudo-hypothetical Bestiary II book? I tend to lean towards creatures in mythology and folklore, but if you have a neat concept, throw it out there; something the new rules could really highlight, lets hear about it; or a pet folkloric favorite you've always wanted to see in an RPG, drop me a link where I can read more. Load me up and I'll see what I can work in!
I'd like to keep this going for a while, so keep 'em coming! And always keep an eye on what we have coming up, as that tends to color our interests. For example, Kingmaker is coming down the line - lots of wilderness and rivers - so that's something to keep in mind.
Thanks a ton all!
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i remember from one of the Dragon Magazine a water spirit for a Russian Chronicle (Red Tide?)
-Rusilka <- they would be perfect for the Lands of the Lynnorn Kings, and maybe the River Kingdoms or Irrisen
-Nereids <- the water nymhs...
-Vampires, there are too many types, so as many of them, I will be happy.
talking about this... what a bout a Mythological or Clasic ceratures revisite?
ok the Minotaur is out but we still have the Medusae or Gorgon, Nymph, Satyr, Cyclops, Quimera, Siren/Mermaid, Centaur, Harpy, Kraken!... gah!! I am missing on! damn you.... ahh TitanS!
FLUMPH Clap,Clap,Clap FLUMPH Clap,Clap,Clap FLUMPH
And interesting, believable inteligent races as allies and enemies.
And interesting fey-creatures with folklore roots
Anything but not the completely weird things wizards had in the later 3.5 MM's. They seemed like star wars aliens not fantasy creatures
Although this isn't a specific type of monster, I'm a big fan of creatures that can be easily teamed or paired with another type of creature. For a classic fantasy example, worgs that can be ridden by goblins to create a third type of "creature" (1. goblins, 2. worgs, 3. goblins-riding-worgs). To me, these types of creatures often deepen the feeling of realism in a world, as they suggest connections between creatures beyond "I get killed by PCs."
As far as folklore goes, I'm a big fan of the Wendigo as depicted by the Algonquian peoples.
CR
and to steal from another thread:
the winged-wolf-riding Valkyries are the coolest thing I have heard in a long time.
Can we have winged-wolf-riding Valkyries? Pretty please??
First, I want to second pulling from mythology and folklore. And to say nay to the flumph. Second, I want to put another call out for more of and careful treatment of regular old (and not quite regular) animals. This will also enrich familiars, companions, and summons. Keeping beasts in makes the monsters stand out all the more -- nature contrasts with the fantastic.
Oh wait, anything happen with the carbuncle?
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Leprechauns and Cluricauns
all kinds of fey based on the germanic necks/nixes (Lorelei, Rhinemaidens, Knuckers)
Oh, and are therer kelpies in Pathfinder already?
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I love creatures from folklore and legend, there's a bunch of monsters over the years that I wanted to see a D&D version so to save time I'm going to grab the Wikipedia descriptions.
The Peluda or Lavelue:Depending on the account, it had either a porcupine-like body or a mess of hair-like projections hanging from its body that were actually stinger-tipped tentacles which could erect into quills. Its name is derived from this shaggy appearance. Consistently, it was said to have possessed poisonous stingers that it could shoot off its body, a snake's neck, head, and tail, large, tortoise-like feet, and a green color.
Nuckelavee:The most horrible of all the Scottish elves. He lives mainly in the sea, but was also held responsible for ruined crops, epidemics, and drought. His breath could wilt the crops and sicken the livestock.[2]
He resembles a centaur whose legs are part fin; he has an enormous gaping mouth and a single giant eye, which burns with a red flame. The most gruesome detail of his appearance is the fact that he has no skin. Black blood courses through yellow veins, and the pale sinews and powerful muscles are visible as a pulsating mass. The Nuckelavee has an aversion of running water, and those who are chased by him have only to cross a stream to be rid of him.[2] Some reports claim that he is simply a very large head on two small arms, with all of the other characteristics mentioned above.
Snallygaster or Schneller Geist: The earliest incarnations mixed the half-bird features of a siren with the nightmarish features of demons and ghouls. The Snallygaster was described as half-reptile, half-bird with a metallic beak lined with razor-sharp teeth, occasionally with octopus-like tentacles. It swoops silently from the sky to pick up and carry off its victims. The earliest stories claim that this monster sucked the blood of its victims. Seven-pointed stars, which reputedly kept the snallygaster at bay, can still be seen painted on local barns.
It has been suggested the legend was resurrected in the 19th century to frighten freed slaves.
Newspaper accounts throughout February and March of 1909 describe encounters between local residents and a beast with "enormous wings, a long pointed bill, claws like steel hooks, and an eye in the center of its forehead."
The Cuegle:The cuegle is a monster in Cantabrian folklore. Walking on two legs and roughly humanoid in shape, it has black skin, three arms without hands or fingers, five rows of teeth, a single stubby horn and three eyes in its head: one green, one red, and one blue.[1] Despite its small size, it has great strength.[2] The cuegle attacks people and livestock, and is reputed to steal babies from the cradle. It may be protected against by placing oak or holly leaves, which it finds repulsive, in the cradle.
Carcolh: It was described as both a serpent and mollusk at the same time, taking characteristics from both types of animals. Its massive and long body carried an enormous shell upon its back, much like a snail's shell, that was believed to live in underground caverns in southwest France. Its gaping mouth was surrounded by several long, hairy, and slime covered tentacles that could extend for miles. These appendages stretched out from the cave it inhabited for a long distance and laid upon the ground among its own viscous slime. They would ensnare and drag back to its abode anything within reach. It would then swallow the capture whole with its gigantic mouth.
I know there were more but I'm blanking now...
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First, I want to second pulling from mythology and folklore. And to say nay to the flumph. Second, I want to put another call out for more of and careful treatment of regular old (and not quite regular) animals. This will also enrich familiars, companions, and summons. Keeping beasts in makes the monsters stand out all the more -- nature contrasts with the fantastic.
Everything he said, except the thing about the carbuncle. :)
Some real-world 'cryptids' or legendary beasts like the Yeti, Sasquatch, Sea Serpent, Mongolion Death Worm, Mngwa, Thunderbird, Mokole-Mbembe, Unktehi, etc. would be at the top of my list.
I'm particularly fond of the Mngwa, which, in a fantasy world, is a natural to have some sort of natural concealment abilities, perhaps based on remaining in poorly-lit areas.
I vaguely recall another Native American beastie that grew stronger and larger if it could strike by surprise, but when someone turned to face it, it shrank to half it's size and ran away, until it could sneak back up behind them again, when it would make another attack at increased size. Having such an effect be a kind of natural shadow magic illusion, that allowed a jackal-sized dog to hit like a small bear on it's initial attack, but required it to dash back into the night to hide for another 'sneak attack' would be a neat mechanic (and an appropriately thematic use of the 'quasi-real' nature of shadow magic).
Director of Brand Strategy
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With the hint that topical monsters might see light before obscure ones, I would like to see something akin to Old Man Willow from Lord of the Rings. We have treants and dryads, but nothing that is just a giant tree that engulfs people. There's always a shortage of good plant monsters anyway, and this one has the benefit of being just a tree. Well one that eats people and smacks 'em about.
A river setting might also be a cool place for Scylia and Charibdis, you know, where it gets narrow.
That's all that comes to mind now, but I'm bookmarking this thread. Congrats on the new milestone in post count, Wes.
This is my 1,000th post on the boards. Now, that's about 1/9 James's number, but what's the point of competing with a computer? So, in light of the additional digit and numerous zeros, I figured this should be significant post. So I'm opening it up. What monsters do you want to see in Pathfinder? Either in Pathfinder's Bestiary, or in a pseudo-hypothetical Bestiary II book?
Congrats on rolling that particular oddometer (as opposed to the odometer... :) )
My first thought is to flesh out some of the iconic intelligent monster races by giving them crews of pets and servants. It's a win for both flavor and crunch. Flavorwise we get new insights into their masters' culture and worldview. Crunchwise we get new monsters specifically designed to augment the special abilities of their masters.
Iki-Turso would be nice to see, it could easily be met when going through northern parts of Avistan on the way to the other side of Golarion (a trip that has been more than hinted). You could get more info asking Erik if he still has Kalevala.
More of what I've seen in the Classic [Critter] Revisted lines, with terrain variants of old standbys has been inspiring.
For Kingmaker, I can see variants on such critters as
- Behirs {one of my personal favorite monsters - I can easily see ones vomiting forth streams or clouds of acid from perches in the trees above, puking cones of magma from within a lava pool or twisting through the air via supernatural flight that cuts loose with a cone of bone-chilling cold and snow.}
- Cave fishers {tree fishers, river fishers}
- Ropers {a forest-dweller that is half-plant, complete with foliage and flowery blooms - a rare intelligent forest-roper might qualify for certain plant-based abilities. An amphibious river dweller variant could have tentacles that strike forth like harpoons, dragging prey into their hungry maws while their limbs quiver like jelly. Schools of hungry river fish eagerly await the cast-offs from the roper's messy dining habits.}
- Undead versions of forest and river fey {imagine a mummified dryad stepping out of what appears to be a dead oak, crackling with the lighting that killed her and her tree in one stroke; or a spectral nymph rising from polluted waters to exact almost-forgotten vengeance}
- Stirge variants {much like mosquitoes and other similar creatures, delivering various nasty diseases, paralytic venom or magical curses}
- Undead loggers cursed by a witch to carry on their slow, shambling work, forced to hew the limbs from the living and stack them like firewood in a bizarre mockery of their former lives.
- Spore-emitting fungi that infest the brains of the living and slowly drive them insane from psychedelic hallucinations and the growth of the second stage in their nervous system. {A variant on vegypygmies I would suppose.}
- Lycanthropic templates outside of the Bestiary could include crocodiles, monitor lizards (especially for any underground rivers), octopi(even nastier if one of the poisonous varieties), snakes, squids, or even vermin (just because it hasn't been done in mythology does not mean it cannot be done in fantasy).
- Nightgaunts, Dimensional Shamblers and Fire Vampires from the Cthulhu Mythos. {To my recollection, they have yet to be Pathfinder-ized.}
- Any and all of the critters presented in the Adventure Paths are a MUST to be "re-tooled", whether in the Bestiary, Bestiary II or in subsequent Adventure Paths. {I would see this happening in Bestiary II, as virtually ALL of the creatures featured in the AP's are worthy of future use outside of the AP in which they originally appear.}
One thing that I loved/hated from playing white box D&D, are the creatures that seem harmless, but are most definitely not!
We had Vorpal Kitties (Arduin Grimoire), Killer Bunnies (Monty Python) and a whole plethora of rust varients (the original rust monster didn't have a description, so ours were shapeshifters ::chuckle:: -- rust doors, rust monks, rust kitties).
I still to this day twitch and fight the old urge of "it's cute and fluffy, nuke it on sight!" from those days of gaming. And the NASTY li'l garter snake that breaths the immense amounts of fire from the original Deities and Demigods.
I do love all the delves into folklore and mythology, as well. Hungry Ghosts anyone? <eg>
New monsters? A large, psionic aberration that is a terrifying combatant as well as a behind-the-scenes manipulator. Not some old monster with the serial numbers filed off, but a new monster with a similar role.
A Huge, Hutt-like psionic grick might fit the bill.
New swarms and hivemind vermin.
Minions of Jubilex: olive slime zombies and intelligent shapeshifting ooze-monsters.
Something like the gray ape of Vilayet from "Hour of the Dragon" and the albino apemen of "Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family"
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Director of Brand Strategy
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How about slivers, or something similar, which operate on a hive mind and grant one another their special abilities? It would mean that the first one you fight would be the hardest and they'd get easier, and is a very CCG/video gamey monster, but they were always my favorite in M:tG.
There's always a shortage of good plant monsters anyway...
I agree!
I would also like to see some forest themed swarms.
First, I want to second pulling from mythology and folklore. And to say nay to the flumph. Second, I want to put another call out for more of and careful treatment of regular old (and not quite regular) animals. This will also enrich familiars, companions, and summons. Keeping beasts in makes the monsters stand out all the more -- nature contrasts with the fantastic.Everything he said, except the thing about the carbuncle. :)
Hey, carbuncles are from the classical bestiaries! Still, I'll be the better man and endorse your cryptid request. :P
How about slivers, or something similar, which operate on a hive mind and grant one another their special abilities? It would mean that the first one you fight would be the hardest and they'd get easier, and is a very CCG/video gamey monster, but they were always my favorite in M:tG.
Darn you Yoda. I agree with this too! One of my favorite monsters is the shocker lizard. It seems wimpy, but as more show up, there's growing sense of danger.
Slivers would be perfect! (Weren't there dragon born or something like that in MMIV that had similar abilities?)
I recently discovered Borges' "Dictionary of Imaginary Beings" and learned of its influence on Gygax and the original D&D monsters. I'd like to see that kind of book revisited. It might be an interesting way to reclaim "Bahamat", and some other monsters.
Along those lines, I really love it when Pathfinder touches back on mythology, it's one of the best uses of the Bestiary pages in the APs. I though Lamias were boring and stupid until Pathfinder #2, when they became one of my favorite monsters. It was a combination of good game-world writing and contextualizing the monster from literature. I wish there had been a similar sidebar for the Peryton in Pathfinder #19! IIRC I had to look that creature up on my own.
Other than that, keep finding workarounds for the "missing" 3.5 monsters. I prefer what was done with the Coeurl/Displacer Beast — find the things that D&D stole from and use those instead. This ties in with my above point of revealing literary context (where it exists).
Meanwhile, I am NOT a big fan of the Mind Flayer/Intellect Devourer approach. What irks me about this move is that the two creatures are surely similar in their encounter role, but they differ wildly in ambiance which is what that mind flayer had going for it. And the ID looks stupid.
Anyway, I'm not saying all monsters have to come from books, but for those that do — especially obscure ones — I really like sidebars that tell me where to look for more.
I recently discovered Borges' "Dictionary of Imaginary Beings" and learned of its influence on Gygax and the original D&D monsters. I'd like to see that kind of book revisited. It might be an interesting way to reclaim "Bahamat", and some other monsters.
Along those lines, I really love it when Pathfinder touches back on mythology, it's one of the best uses of the Bestiary pages in the APs. I though Lamias were boring and stupid until Pathfinder #2, when they became one of my favorite monsters. It was a combination of good game-world writing and contextualizing the monster from literature. I wish there had been a similar sidebar for the Peryton in Pathfinder #19! IIRC I had to look that creature up on my own.
Other than that, keep finding workarounds for the "missing" 3.5 monsters. I prefer what was done with the Coeurl/Displacer Beast — find the things that D&D stole from and use those instead. This ties in with my above point of revealing literary context (where it exists).
Meanwhile, I am NOT a big fan of the Mind Flayer/Intellect Devourer approach. I think what irks me about this move is that the two creatures are surely similar in their encounter role, but they differ wildly in ambiance which is what that mind flayer had going for it. And the ID looks stupid.
Anyway, I'm not saying all monsters have to come from books, but for those that do — especially obscure ones — I really like sidebars that tell me where to look for more.
I would say that the Intellect Devourer has an ambience that HIGHLY varies by its introduction. If its padding quietly down the metal "dungeon" you are exploring, it is only so-so (barring various illusions and such employed by the critter). If your first time seeing one is crawling out of the shattered skull of your best friend, caked in dark red blood and bits of grue while telling your mind something to the effect of "Your friend was not bad. I think you will do nicely for a time." is more on the level of seeing an Alien crack its way out of your buddy's chest.
YMMV
I do love all the delves into folklore and mythology, as well. Hungry Ghosts anyone? <eg>
Yes! We definitely need to include Asian folkore and mythology in that delving. The Thai, for example, have more kinds of ghosts than you can shake a stick at. My 19 year old step son is moving here from Thailand to go to school, and the first thing he wanted to know was how old the building was, and if any bad things had happened here in the past. Oh, this is gonna be FUN!
I would say that the Intellect Devourer has an ambience that HIGHLY varies by its introduction. If its padding quietly down the metal "dungeon" you are exploring, it is only so-so (barring various illusions and such employed by the critter). If your first time seeing one is crawling out of the shattered skull of your best friend, caked in dark red blood and bits of grue while telling your mind something to the effective of "Your friend was not bad. I think you will do nicely for a time." is more on the level of seeing an...
I am surely willing to accept this is a matter of personal taste. Your description sounds to me like ids done right.
However, that has very little overlap with my concept of mind flayers done right.
More threadjack (only partially relevant):
I don't think the role of mind flayer has been filled, really. We need a brain eating humanoid society that can be behind conspiracies and live in cities, etc. The id is a far better monster for "The Thing" type scenarios like Turin has described.
Mind flayers had culture, and that gave them a very specific role in my campaigns that the "replacement" creatures haven't filled.
ids also aren't very smart on their own. Mind flayers were genius level intellects!
I renew my call for a humanoid, socialized, slave holding, super smart, aberration race. It need not be squid-faced, but brain-eating is a plus. Heck, in Golarion this could pretty obviously fit somewhere in the Aboleth-Azlant scheme of things.
EVIL. FEY.
I hate plant monsters, myself. Plants are not supposed to be walking around. Stationary plant moneters are fine ;)
Some new stereotyped monsters for 1st-level dungeons besides kobolds and dire rats.
If there aren't enough high-CR monsters for high-level adventures (outside of dragons and devils), there's probably a need for more of them ;)
Titanic creatures, with plenty of hooks for why you would see them, interacting with them in more ways (driving off vs. appeasing vs. killing vs. helping). Does a virgin princess sacrifice work? (ala Clash of the Titans). Why?
Creatures composed of light, or gas.
Neutral (animal-int) creatures composed of fiendish energies that are drawn to evil actions to feed.
Mythological is always a big plus.
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However, that has very little overlap with my concept of mind flayers done right.
Of all the WotC IP, losing Mind Flayers and Displacer Beasts bugs me the most. Those critters from Second Darkness (Akasta?) are suitable Displacer Beast replacements, but Intellect Devourers (and Seguathi or whatever) come *nowhere* near replacing the Mind Flayers, IMO.
What *could* replace that sort of niche, for me, would be sorcerous shapeshifting Serpentfolk, done up similar to those of the Freeport adventures by Green Ronin (or the Asaatthi from Sword & Sorcery).
On the other hand, the loss of Beholders and Yuan-Ti bugs me not at all. They never clicked for me.
I think what I really miss about mind-flayers is, it was a humanoid with a octopus head. That's just scary, in and of itself. Wotci doesn't own the idea of a monstrous humanoid with an octopus head. At the risk of being annoying, couldn't we have such a monster that was more in line with its roots in the Cthulhu mythos and it not fall into the trap of a mind flayer knock-off?
I am surely willing to accept this is a matter of personal taste. Your description sounds to me like ids done right.However, that has very little overlap with my concept of mind flayers done right.
Agreed and agreed - for personal taste, the one can do certain things far better than the other. /end threadjack
I think what I really miss about mind-flayers is, it was a humanoid with a octopus head. That's just scary, in and of itself. Wotci doesn't own the idea of a monstrous humanoid with an octopus head. At the risk of being annoying, couldn't we have such a monster that was more in line with its roots in the Cthulhu mythos and it not fall into the trap of a mind flayer knock-off?
Krakenfolk?
If you want mind flayers in your game, pick up a "Monster Manual" that has them and convert them. I'm picking up a copy of "Lords of Madness" off eBay, which are pretty cheap.
We should get some NEW monsters that fill some of those niches: nightmare beasts and weird agents of Chaos that feed on the mind of PCs and incapacitate and kill them easily, or manipulate human cities to their whim, or sell humans into slavery in the Darklands or the planes.
Akatas are cool, witchwyrds need a better name.
Why wouldn't we want more cool stuff like the mobogo? The seugathi look cool, too.
Suggestions... Minions for Camazotz, one of my favorite underappreciated demon lords since the overview of Hardby in Dungeon #109.
I think what I really miss about mind-flayers is, it was a humanoid with a octopus head. That's just scary, in and of itself. Wotci doesn't own the idea of a monstrous humanoid with an octopus head. At the risk of being annoying, couldn't we have such a monster that was more in line with its roots in the Cthulhu mythos and it not fall into the trap of a mind flayer knock-off?Krakenfolk?
Kraken is such a great word. But add "folk" to any word and watch it become less scary. Krakari.
I'd like to see more monsters that scale in power. Stuff that you can fight for a whole campaign and still remain believable. Class levels on intelligent creatures are one way to accomplish this, but there are others as well - dragons growing older/more powerful for example.
While I haven't played RotRL, I've heard it did great things for goblins' fluff. Even with buffs or in groups, I can't see them being a credible threat beyond 5th level. Even if the whole campaign doesn't center around goblins, it would be nice to be able to encounter them at 15th level and have them be just as scary as they are at first. (ok, maybe "scary" isn't the right word, but I think you know what I mean)
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While I haven't played RotRL, I've heard it did great things for goblins' fluff. Even with buffs or in groups, I can't see them being a credible threat beyond 5th level. Even if the whole campaign doesn't center around goblins, it would be nice to be able to encounter them at 15th level and have them be just as scary as they are at first. (ok, maybe "scary" isn't the right word, but I think you know what I mean)
While it's certainly not canonical, I've always considered goblins to be outcasts from an unseelie fey realm, sort of the shadow-twins to gnomes. At higher levels, once could introduce hobgoblins as equally shadowy unseelie reflections of elves. Having a 'Goblin King' who looks like David Bowie might be taking it a bit too far, though...
If you want mind flayers in your game, pick up a "Monster Manual" that has them and convert them.
More flayers. Sorry Wes.
GW, that's sound advice. I only broached the topic because I felt they could be better replaced in the setting. If I want them in my campaign, I don't need to wait for Paizo to print it!
But this is a "what critters did we want to see in Pathfinder" thread. I Presume Wes means the Adventure Paths. I was just saying: more replacement monsters please, and Displacer Beast-to-Coeurl was a more artful move than Mind Flayer-to-id.
The mind flayer idea had to come from somewhere! I doubt it was original. Couldn't you just base a pathfinder version upon the original?
And I'll add, I would like to see something that was a little closer to the mind flayers, setting-wise. The aboleths very nearly fit the bill, but they're not humanoid! Which means different dungeon architecture! That is really the only point of failure.
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Sorry to continue the threadjack, but...
How 'bout the good old Brain Collector. Looks like it could be used to fill a similar role. Okay, it's not specifically cephalopiod, but it has other similarities:
- Super smart
- aberration
- not necessarily humanoid (but description isn't included in the SRD)
- potential mind-controller (since it gets spellcasting)
- head-tentacles
- brain-eating
Okay, it's epic, but you could easily "de-advance" it to get a lower-level version. (Which, IIRC, would make it more like the original.)
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My top request is more high level monsters. I believe James said at one point that one problem with designing high level modules and sets of adventures was the lack of non-dragon monsters for high level characters to face. I would greatly like to see this problem rectified to make high level adventures more possible.
High level monster examples-
Massive monsters for land, sea, and air- Behemoth, Leviathan, Ziz
Kaiju (This ties in with my Oriental monster request later)
Cthonic horrors
Extremely powerful outsiders
Colossi
My second request is to keep the “Construction” sections for relevant monsters, particularly Constructs and Undead. I like seeing these, and I’ve had campaigns where players used them. I’m not in any particular state of doubt about your removing them, but I thought it’d be good to note that I like them being there. My group’s necromancer was thrilled to hear that some of the undead in Pathfinder products were actually getting sections in their entries for necromancers creating them (like the Rajput Ambari and Bonestorm). I also liked seeing the section about creating a Raktavarna there; sections like that on a few more outsiders (only ones that make sense, of course), would be nice.
Other ideas-
More beings from the planes, particularly non-evil ones (which I think have less options than Hell and the Abyss tend to). Major planes are vast, dwarfing worlds in size; I’d like to see the more neglected ones start having the sort of
Examples for good-aligned planes: Cherubs, Seraphim, Powers, Dominions, Thrones, Virtues, Principalities, Malakim, Elohim
Jyoti and their negative counterparts whose name escapes me at the moment
A possession-based demon / devil of some sort
Psychopomps (This could fit into the high level category and would fit with The Boneyard)
Beings from Oriental-type regions:
Kami (Multiple types, native outsiders)
Oni (Multiple types, as a note I’m pleased that you’ve fixed the Ogre Mage’s name to Oni in the main bestiary)
Undead- Yuki-Onna, Gaki, Hopping Vampires, Onryo
Tien Dragons, something like Orochi to go along with them would be nice
Youkai- Kappa, Tengu, Tanuki, Kitsune, Nekomata, Zashiki-Warashi Others
Nue Beasts
Spirits of objects, like Kasa-Obata
Some sort of puppet / marionette monster could fit in as a construct.
Science-fiction-based monsters would be interesting. Since this would be for a core product, and therefore more setting neutral than the Golarion-specific things (though I wouldn’t mind at all if Golarion flavor were included), I’d like to see some support for non-fantasy genres that would let regular D&D characters battle more sci-fi inspired threats. This one isn’t as high priority as the rest on my list. This would include things like actual robots.
After reading the thread, I noticed some requests for more fae, particularly unseelie ones. I'll second those requests.
Lastly, while I do think that sticking to monsters from mythology and folklore is a good way to base fair amounts of the product, I’d like to see some brand new creatures too if possible. I don’t think having some wholly original or non-legend-based monsters would be a bad thing.
Edit: And congrats on the 1,000 posts, Wes! :)
Brainy, but OT
ADD: And Yes to more Fey. And Set -- not "too far" enough!
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The mind flayer idea had to come from somewhere! I doubt it was original. Couldn't you just base a pathfinder version upon the original?
Snatched this from wikipedia: Gygax (posting as "Col_Pladoh"), Gary (2005-02-01). "Gary Gygax Q&A: part VII". http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/showpost. Retrieved on 2007-02-27. "The mind flayer I made up out of whole cloth using my imagination, but inspired by the cover of Brian Lumley's novel in paperback edition, The Burrowers Beneath"
I think we can (sadly) write off the Illithid for any future outside of maybe some freebie fan created stuff.
Brain collectors look great, that CR 26 is tough.
I think seugathi is probably exactly what I wanted... I'll have to pick up "Into the Darkness".
I'll never go 12 minutes without a Slurm again! ...I can't stop eating this delicious ooze...
"The mind flayer I made up out of whole cloth using my imagination, but inspired by the cover of Brian Lumley's novel in paperback edition, The Burrowers Beneath"
I think we can (sadly) write off the Illithid for any future outside of maybe some freebie fan created stuff.
Dead Horse
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Wayfinder, PaizoCon Founder
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Since reading the latest Dresden novel, I am really enamored with skinwalkers, the Navajo shapeshifting witch/werewolf. The folklore is vivid. Their abilities are plentiful, and as diverse as the personal accounts.
They are definitely more interesting than plain ol' werewooves.
Quasi- and para-elementals...
Alternative base wizard familiars: monkeys, otters, crabs, more mustelids...
EDIT
Wasn't someone talking in some thread about a humanoid that could unerringly assume a form, like a doppelganger, but had to kill them and steal the skin of their face?
I hope tatzelwyrms are in the Bestiary. It's my favorite cryptid.
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"The mind flayer I made up out of whole cloth using my imagination, but inspired by the cover of Brian Lumley's novel in paperback edition, The Burrowers Beneath"
I think we can (sadly) write off the Illithid for any future outside of maybe some freebie fan created stuff.
Dead Horse
Illithids, yes. But scary dude with octopus head? I don't see why. The Gary quote goes right back to my point above about Cthulhic retrieval.
Dead Horse? Sorry I must have missed the copious amounts of threads and posts on the subject. But, whatever.
As for the creation of new scary octopus head dudes? I'm a fan of all things Lovecraft inspired, so bring 'em on. As long as one can be done convincingly and strong enough to stand on it's own and not live in the shadow of the rather iconic mind flayers. Though that's a pretty tall order IMO.
Darkwolf,