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Pathfinder, 2nd Edition
Bestiary
Unleash the Beasts
Over 400 of fantasy's fiercest foes burst from the pages of this enormous 360-page compendium of the most popular and commonly encountered creatures in the world of Pathfinder! From familiar enemies like orcs, dragons, and vampires to new horrors like the nightmarish nilith and the three-headed mukradi, to suitable servants for summoners of every alignment, this must-have companion to the Pathfinder Core Rulebook is crawling with creatures to challenge characters of any level.
The Pathfinder Bestiary includes:
- More than 400 monsters!
- Gorgeous full-color illustrations on nearly every page!
- Detailed monster lists sorted by level, type, and rarity to help you find the right monster for any situation!
- Universal monster rules to simplify special attacks, defenses, and qualities like grab, swallow whole, and regeneration.
- Guidelines for providing appropriate monstrous treasures for any occasion.
- Detailed lore sidebars offering additional information about Pathfinder's most popular monstrous friends and foes!
Over 400 of fantasy's fiercest foes burst from the pages of this enormous 360-page compendium of the most popular and commonly encountered creatures in the world of Pathfinder! From familiar enemies like orcs, dragons, and vampires to new horrors like the nightmarish nilith and the three-headed mukradi, to suitable servants for summoners of every alignment, this must-have companion to the Pathfinder Core Rulebook is crawling with creatures to challenge characters of any level.
The Pathfinder Bestiary includes:
- More than 400 monsters!
- Gorgeous full-color illustrations on nearly every page!
- Detailed monster lists sorted by level, type, and rarity to help you find the right monster for any situation!
- Universal monster rules to simplify special attacks, defenses, and qualities like grab, swallow whole, and regeneration.
- Guidelines for providing appropriate monstrous treasures for any occasion.
- Detailed lore sidebars offering additional information about Pathfinder's most popular monstrous friends and foes!
360 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2019
7 people are currently reading
68 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 22, 2022
Good evening and welcome fellow Children of Chaos.
This is a decent Bestiary. The artwork isn't as bad as so much modern RPG artwork is, though something is just a little off I cannot put my finger on.
I like how they have monsters in these little groups so to make campaigns involving them easier. While the stat blocks are more or less easy to read they do have the issue of using keywords that would probably make a lot of sense had I actually played.
The one big issue here is no Terrasque! Come on.
This is a decent Bestiary. The artwork isn't as bad as so much modern RPG artwork is, though something is just a little off I cannot put my finger on.
I like how they have monsters in these little groups so to make campaigns involving them easier. While the stat blocks are more or less easy to read they do have the issue of using keywords that would probably make a lot of sense had I actually played.
The one big issue here is no Terrasque! Come on.
August 10, 2019
Lots of great lore on the world just from reading the entries. Didn't add too many new rules or traits or whatever, keeping things simple for the second 2e rulebook.
May 26, 2020
Many great options, a perfect companion to the Core Rulebook.
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September 15, 2025I totally and completely love this book!!!!
Everything I wanted and expected in the story exceeded my expectations. Logan Chance brings you this amazing series and an awesome story for Riggs and Vanessa.
Riggs is incredible and so very sexy. Vanessa is a force who is beautiful as well as famous. Together they are a powerhouse couple. The attraction is a problem from the very beginning. Even from Sawyers book I knew they were gonna be an epic love story.
The suspense completely keeps you captivated and on the edge of your seat. But with Riggs and the bravo team in charge, I was never worried 😊
This series is incredible so far. Riggs and Vanessa though are a hard act to follow.
Everything I wanted and expected in the story exceeded my expectations. Logan Chance brings you this amazing series and an awesome story for Riggs and Vanessa.
Riggs is incredible and so very sexy. Vanessa is a force who is beautiful as well as famous. Together they are a powerhouse couple. The attraction is a problem from the very beginning. Even from Sawyers book I knew they were gonna be an epic love story.
The suspense completely keeps you captivated and on the edge of your seat. But with Riggs and the bravo team in charge, I was never worried 😊
This series is incredible so far. Riggs and Vanessa though are a hard act to follow.
December 19, 2023
Beasties galore! This is a great monster tome with tons of nifty designs that you could easily use for years. I especially enjoy the Paizo-ification of kobolds, who have lost their boring mini-dragon look for a doofy flathead presentation that is 100% more cuddly and memorable. All hail kobolds, the new mascots of Pathfinder 2e! (In my games, kobolds all refer to each other as "ding dongs" and call other ancestries "daddy-o." Don't ask, I came up with it in a flash of inspiration one evening and now it's stuck ever since)
December 11, 2025
Before I delve into the politics of "woke" monsters meant to appeal to the ultra-left, indulge me, if you will, to comment upon the non-political aspects of this tome...
Positives:
- Book is gorgeous, with mostly excellent art and layout.
- There are some new, surprising monsters in here, and a lot of good old classics. The number of monsters packed into this book is huge - 414 -, though many are variations on a theme and some are basic animals, like dogs.
- Statblocks are, in general, much shorter now, and it's very cool that monsters now have individualized reactions and aren't beholden to the same design parameters as PCs. This leaves more room for "fluff" and descriptions of the monsters' places in the world of Golarion. This space is usually taken advantage of, making it all the more glaring when it is absent, as in the case of the wendigo.
Negatives:
- Too much space is wasted on basic animals, such as horses and dogs. For some reason, Paizo felt it necessary to illustrate these as well, as if we don't know what a horse looks like.
- Too many "Good" creatures are included, unlikely to be opponents for many gaming groups.
- Flavorful and traditional creature names have often been replaced by much more generic ones (e.g. replacing stirge with "bloodseeker", ettercap with "web lurker")
- While much of the art is quite good, a number of the interior art choices are middling to poor at best (bugbear, hobgoblin, ogre, troll, vampire, etc.).
- In contrast to Pathfinder 1E bestiaries, not nearly enough of the creatures in this book have specific sizes listed, simply "small", "large", etc. How big is a typical frost drake, gogiteth, etc.?
- Locations where creatures are most likely to be found is missing from statblocks and only occurs sporadically in descriptions. Big drawback. Paizo could have even leaned in to their embrace of Golarion and indicated where within their world specific monsters can be found. To add insult to injury, there are no encounter or location tables in the back of the bestiary!
Now, onward to political-correctness!
- There is a lot of gender activism in here (all tilting towards feminism), and you'll find immersion-breaking statements concerning gender stereotypes, certain female creatures being stronger than the male versions, and a number of societies that are matriarchal, while you'll find none that are patriarchal. Odd, that. Apparently, within Golarion, all societies are either perfect exemplars of gender equality or tilt strongly towards matriarchy. This is silly and a huge blow against verisimilitude. (-1 star) Personally, I'd find it far more interesting to have characters explore a world of true diversity, reflective of the myriad and divergent cultures of its inhabitants, some of whom will craft matriarchies, and some patriarchies. Some might be ruled by Elders, some by the wielders of the arcane, others by seers and oracles, some ruled by those unburdened by base sexual desires, and perhaps some by gifted youth whose talents fade as they age. But having every culture reflect gender parity or matriarchy is just goofy.
- As well, the usual Paizo paternalism and puritanism is present - apparently females aren't allowed to visibly express their sexuality anymore. This manifests, as an example, with the illustration for the succubus, which is now apparently a Modesty Demon. (-1 star)
In sum, Paizo allows their desire to "include" everyone and engage in gender activism to lessen what would otherwise be a decent product. It's pretty clear at this point that most of Paizo's leaders do not respect masculinity, perhaps even being misandrists. Nonconformance to masculinity seems to be placed on a pedestal, save for, ironically, when Paizo is attempting to subvert stereotypes by portraying female versions of aggressive, strong warriors. And thus, we get nearly every female crafted to "play against type", subvert stereotypes, and change the thinking of their, apparently, neanderthal readers who can't think for themselves. This is completely ineffectual, for in order for stereotype subversion to be effective, you need stereotypes to exist, and people to harbor biases. This apparently does not occur in Golarion, where every community seems to be either an exemplar of gender equality or a matriarchy. Without a foundation of stereotypes, you can't play against type and subvert them. What you're left with is a world without a sense of mooring or verisimilitude, just a shadowy reflection of some modern, ultra-liberal idea of utopia.
For those who have followed Paizo for a while, none of this should be surprising. For those new to Paizo, you'll find these viewpoints infesting nearly every Paizo product these days. Paizo apparently lives in such fear of offending or angering the far-left that they find it impossible to creatively portray a fantasy world where male versions of a creature (not just humans) are physically stronger than females, or where a patriarchal, non-evil society exists. Of course, all of this runs contrary to our own history of humankind, but never mind that!
Conclusion: If you consider yourself far-left politically, want this portrayed in your purchases of fantasy RPG products, and don't mind a lack of verisimilitude, this bestiary is for you. For all others, there's not nearly enough positive or new here to outweigh the negatives.
Positives:
- Book is gorgeous, with mostly excellent art and layout.
- There are some new, surprising monsters in here, and a lot of good old classics. The number of monsters packed into this book is huge - 414 -, though many are variations on a theme and some are basic animals, like dogs.
- Statblocks are, in general, much shorter now, and it's very cool that monsters now have individualized reactions and aren't beholden to the same design parameters as PCs. This leaves more room for "fluff" and descriptions of the monsters' places in the world of Golarion. This space is usually taken advantage of, making it all the more glaring when it is absent, as in the case of the wendigo.
Negatives:
- Too much space is wasted on basic animals, such as horses and dogs. For some reason, Paizo felt it necessary to illustrate these as well, as if we don't know what a horse looks like.
- Too many "Good" creatures are included, unlikely to be opponents for many gaming groups.
- Flavorful and traditional creature names have often been replaced by much more generic ones (e.g. replacing stirge with "bloodseeker", ettercap with "web lurker")
- While much of the art is quite good, a number of the interior art choices are middling to poor at best (bugbear, hobgoblin, ogre, troll, vampire, etc.).
- In contrast to Pathfinder 1E bestiaries, not nearly enough of the creatures in this book have specific sizes listed, simply "small", "large", etc. How big is a typical frost drake, gogiteth, etc.?
- Locations where creatures are most likely to be found is missing from statblocks and only occurs sporadically in descriptions. Big drawback. Paizo could have even leaned in to their embrace of Golarion and indicated where within their world specific monsters can be found. To add insult to injury, there are no encounter or location tables in the back of the bestiary!
Now, onward to political-correctness!
- There is a lot of gender activism in here (all tilting towards feminism), and you'll find immersion-breaking statements concerning gender stereotypes, certain female creatures being stronger than the male versions, and a number of societies that are matriarchal, while you'll find none that are patriarchal. Odd, that. Apparently, within Golarion, all societies are either perfect exemplars of gender equality or tilt strongly towards matriarchy. This is silly and a huge blow against verisimilitude. (-1 star) Personally, I'd find it far more interesting to have characters explore a world of true diversity, reflective of the myriad and divergent cultures of its inhabitants, some of whom will craft matriarchies, and some patriarchies. Some might be ruled by Elders, some by the wielders of the arcane, others by seers and oracles, some ruled by those unburdened by base sexual desires, and perhaps some by gifted youth whose talents fade as they age. But having every culture reflect gender parity or matriarchy is just goofy.
- As well, the usual Paizo paternalism and puritanism is present - apparently females aren't allowed to visibly express their sexuality anymore. This manifests, as an example, with the illustration for the succubus, which is now apparently a Modesty Demon. (-1 star)
In sum, Paizo allows their desire to "include" everyone and engage in gender activism to lessen what would otherwise be a decent product. It's pretty clear at this point that most of Paizo's leaders do not respect masculinity, perhaps even being misandrists. Nonconformance to masculinity seems to be placed on a pedestal, save for, ironically, when Paizo is attempting to subvert stereotypes by portraying female versions of aggressive, strong warriors. And thus, we get nearly every female crafted to "play against type", subvert stereotypes, and change the thinking of their, apparently, neanderthal readers who can't think for themselves. This is completely ineffectual, for in order for stereotype subversion to be effective, you need stereotypes to exist, and people to harbor biases. This apparently does not occur in Golarion, where every community seems to be either an exemplar of gender equality or a matriarchy. Without a foundation of stereotypes, you can't play against type and subvert them. What you're left with is a world without a sense of mooring or verisimilitude, just a shadowy reflection of some modern, ultra-liberal idea of utopia.
For those who have followed Paizo for a while, none of this should be surprising. For those new to Paizo, you'll find these viewpoints infesting nearly every Paizo product these days. Paizo apparently lives in such fear of offending or angering the far-left that they find it impossible to creatively portray a fantasy world where male versions of a creature (not just humans) are physically stronger than females, or where a patriarchal, non-evil society exists. Of course, all of this runs contrary to our own history of humankind, but never mind that!
Conclusion: If you consider yourself far-left politically, want this portrayed in your purchases of fantasy RPG products, and don't mind a lack of verisimilitude, this bestiary is for you. For all others, there's not nearly enough positive or new here to outweigh the negatives.
April 14, 2023
This excellent bestiary has many classic monsters, extra lore, and fantastic art—a perfect way to get introduced to the enemies (or allies) of the Pathfinder system.
My only minor complaint is that stat blocks are sometimes challenging to read as they wrap around images, and occasionally, you need to turn the page back and forth to see all the abilities.
My only minor complaint is that stat blocks are sometimes challenging to read as they wrap around images, and occasionally, you need to turn the page back and forth to see all the abilities.
October 15, 2022
This book contains a large number of monsters for PF2. I didn't actually read it it's way big. I did skim it and the art is absolutely gorgeous.
October 20, 2023
This is a good bestiary.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews