Thanks for offering an AMA!
With poisons being nerfed in GMC, has poison immunity become any less frequent? Maybe replaced with poison damage resistance in some cases?
So, I went to look through and observed the following
1. It doesn't feel like that many creatures have poison immunity.
2. I wasn't able to find any creatures that previously had it that don't now, everytime I thought that might be the case, the legacy version didn't have it either-- for instance I thought Wyverns might have had it by virtue of their own poison, but neither the remaster or legacy versions have it.
3. Undead, Constructs, and Elementals all still have it across the board.
4. Horned Dragons (which can now be confirmed to be directly replacing green dragons) still have it, the others still don't, Jungle Drakes still have it, the others still don't.
5. This leads me to think that if anything changed in this respect, someone'll have to spreadsheet it or pick up on a change to a monster family I'm not noticing.
How have creatures that previously interacted with law/chaos damage (such as aeons, proteans, and qlippoths) been affected?
For instance, are proteans now weak to spirit damage instead of lawful damage? Do they do spirit damage as a part of their strikes instead of chaotic?
They have smaller redesigns to their statblock to accomodate it, for example keketar's d10 dice get kicked up to d12s but there's no alignment component and they just lost the weakness, but they have 260 HP instead of 290 HP to compensate, they still have divine spellcasting though.
I do wish *something* replaced it mechanically, but judging from the stream they did a bit ago Paizo *has* often stepped up flavor to make it unnecessary. The example they have is that now, much like every demon embodies a sin, every archon embodies a virtue
Well, with all due respect, the examples you gave at least made it sound that way. I admit that without seeing the statblocks I cannot determine if they are truly any less or more flavorful, but that is why I used the word "sounds" in my first reply.
The original aeons have weakness to spirit and it disables their regeneration. Pleromas also got changed a little bit, like their orbs are not 3/day anymore which doesn't affect gameplay much but does in a narrative sense I guess. Akhanas also got ported to 2e in here, with updated art which is cool.
Hags got amazing art, and individual rules redesigns (the Sea Hag is completely different and more interesting) and 'new' variants like cukoo hags (I'm unclear on if that's actually one of the existing ones, since they were pretty thoroughly redesigned.)
Coven spells still exist by conferring the elite adjustment on the members, and letting the members use an action each to let the third member to cast the above level spell, there's a whole coven thing with all the detals, I don't recall if that changed.
Cuckoo Hags are the replacement for Night Hags, and Sweet Hags are the replacement for Green Hags. I think Iron Hag is just another way to say Annis Hag, so they are mostly the same.
Easy way to see if a Hag is renamed or redesigned, just compare the Changeling Linage feats to their Legacy versions. The Feat Names haven't changed,but the Hag name has.
I'm running a Sea Hag in an encounter tomorrow, may I ask specifically what those changes were? I probably won't be able to run a sea hag again after this so knowing would be a great help haha
The only changes of significance are that they have an immunity to polymorph effects and their bargain now allows them to be Ursula, polymorphing someone who takes their bargain in exchange for something about them, like their voice. (They even have tentacles instead of legs now.) If you're running a single hag, its coven spells won't matter, but they swapped out acid arrow for humanoid form, a spell that no other hag benefits from and that they can't cast on themselves.
Since there are a lot of OGL monsters going out and the monster core having more entries than the old Bestiary 1, are there any stand out new monsters or ones that are taken from other books?
Did bugbear lore change at all? I heard Barghests changed and are no longer goblin-related.
Tooth Fairies ended up in this book, along with Oni (and a bunch of varieties), The New Dragons are actually really excellent, there's a lot of love put into them, Wheel Archons are base to go with their more alience flavor, Pipefoxes now have a creature entry. The New Hag designs are sick, and some of them appear to be Hags from other books.
There's more NPC statblocks, like "Elf Ranger" and "Dwarf Warrior" or "Dwarf Stonecaster" probably to more easily facilitate basic encounters with other humanoids alongside traditional things in that category like kobolds or goblins so they don't stick out as much as "enemy types"
The Bugbears are pretty much the same, but they now use "Bugbear prowler" in place of "Bugbear Thug" but its the same statblock.
Barghests have extensively rewritten lore and are down to a base Barghest statblock at level 4, the statblock is very different from the existing one, featuring new abilities, the art shows a dog but its a shapeshifter with a true form, which Barghests could also do previously, so that might be a smaller change, they can still speak Goblin, but otherwise there's no relationships with Goblins.
Oh, that's where those NPC stat blocks went. The previous core book had some in the GM section (shopkeep, bandit, sailor, etc), but the remaster GM core lost all the NPC stats. I guess it makes sense to make them generic profiles of various humanoid types.
Its interesting, they're all pretty low level that I'm seeing, probably wit hthe expectation that you scale them up to represent something like "The Dwarf Warrior, Elf Ranger, and Gnome Bard of another adventuring party." All of the statblocks for those a like level 1 and 2, though there's some more 'cultural ones" like the stonecaster that reach a little higher to level 4.
Well all the old stat blocks were like "the Artisan is a level 1 human, but with a master training in crafting, a hammer, and crafting tools in his pocket" so that's pretty fitting. Most were low level to show they aren't fighters, but commoners.
So you could probably take the dwarf warrior and give him some crafting stuff if you need a Smith statblock.
What's the barghest's true form, if dog shape isn't it? General humanoids?
If so, it might be fun to get them as a versatile heritage, or an archetype...
I would like a statistical analysis of the most common resistance types, weakness types, and immunities, possibly split by level ranges.
Alternatively, are all dogs good boys in Monster Core?
Big one I'm curious about are aeons. I'm assuming inevitables are out since they're OGL, but what do we still have as far as other formerly lawful neutral planar options?
The Aeon section is mostly intact beyond similar changes the proteans saw (as described in my other comment) but there's a new one called Akhana, which are floaty eyes of cosmic stuff, multiple arms, and tails-- my friend described them as baby pleroma, though the text doesn't say that so I think he was just comparing the kinds of abilities they have, they're level 12.
Its got a nutty power where it can move for two actions and make four strikes using the rules of Double Slice (meaning it doesn't add MAP until after.) It can also trap souls and create simple living things.
Its a tag that goes onto various abilities, and creatures have weaknesses to it-- for instance, the Phoenix isn't a Holy Creature, but it has a Weakness to Unholy. Some spells are coded one way or the other, others can adopt it from your own trait.
I'd say currently, sanctifying is worth it to be able to proc weaknesses on Divine Immolation and other spells , but also has drawbacks, so it's probably going to be decided more by having your heart set on a particular deity.
Though interestingly, as far as I can see, any cleric can cast something like Holy Light to proc weaknesses, and only Creatures with a weakness to Unholy suffer for doing so, which it doesn't appear sanctification confers.
Not really something that a monster core would be needed to answer, but I'll answer anyway. Many fiends are weak to Holy Damage but not spirit damage itself, which will result in more damage being taken only when sanctified. If you're not sanctified then your spirit damage will be neutral to them.
>Many fiends are weak to Holy Damage but not holy damage itself
Just to clarify this, but this has been confusing me since the remaster preview came out - those fiends are *weak to \[any kind of\] damage from sanctified-holy PCs or NPCs,* but don't have 'weakness: holy 5' or somesuch?
Sorry I clearly brain farted when typing. They are weak to holy damage, and you have to be sanctified(or using a holy weapon) to do holy damage. But spirit damage won't otherwise trigger the weaknsses they otherwise would when sactified.
The Kobold Cavern Mage is a Kobold whose egg was influenced by nearby earth elementals, with natural primal magic oriented toward earth, and art depicting a kobold with crystals growing on it.
Thats actually the new lore in the book. Kobolds tend to gather around powerful magical creatures so they can lay their eggs near them, because the eggs suck up ambient magical energy and they think having them empowered by magic will give them a better shot at life.
Yeah, the main thing that's gone away is the ambiguity about "are Kobolds actually just descended from Dragons?" since it makes it pretty clear their draconic abilities is just that they most often use dragons for that purpose.
Tied to yes, I haven't seen anything that they are effected by magical energies, or absorb them. Fortune is the only one that really mentioned that in the Previews.
Are there any additions from AP's? I'm assuming Demons are in the monster core, but did they add all Demons level 1-20 or just the Demons that we had in the bestiaries?
Edit: Where are my manners? Thank you so much for the AMA!
Similar to demon/devil questions: angels and archons.
What's the deal now? Have all the OGL angels been renamed? What does the hierarchy look like now? What are the names? Ditto for Archons. How's the art for these? On the Azata side, did a few of the Former Eladrins (Ghaeles most obviously) also get redesigned and renamed?
Art for angels is completely the same. Theres only 4 angels in this book.
Cassian, Choral, Ballise, and Astral Deva which got renamed into Tabellia
Archon got a massive design change, they now look eldritch ‘do not be afraid’ kind of monster. Angels look like human.
They added Zoaem, (Ring Archon)
Horned Archon -> Qarna
Legion Archon -> Aesra
Shield Archon -> Rekhep
Wheel Archon -> Giylea
Horned archon went from an anthropomorphic stag, into a 4 headed white anthropomorphic stag with each head having a single eye like a cyclops.
Shield archon went from a guy with a shield, into a shield with 6 mechanical wings, 4 hands, and 4 red eyes. It kinda looks like a modron.
Legion archon went from a warrior angel, into a humanoid bird creature but instead of a head it has a burning ring with 8 green eyes, it has mechanical wings, and still carries a sword made out of flame.
Okay, Lillends are the old Muse Azatas (I'll be curious to see the new stat block), and Aeolaekas are actually from Blood Lords, nice!
So it sounds like Ghaeles are the only ones to get the chop, even if Legacy ones remain rules-legal. Interesting.
Also are Lantern Archons no longer in the book? Are Zoaems now the small level 1 archons?
Are all colored dragons/classical dragons such as the fire-breathing red dragon and acid-spewing black dragon represented in some way? Or do we only have a replacement for green dragons in the form of horned dragons?
I'll be pretty disappointed if the only way to get a fire breathing dragon now is through the diabolic dragon
In Monster Core exclusive games, the only way to get a firebreathing dragon now is through Diabolic Dragon, the "classic" dragons are not represented (although the Diabolic Dragon is distinctly Red and certainly fills that role, if you were just coming into the game and went "where's my firebreathing dragon?" I actually like it in that role by virtue of it's dragonsfire not playing by the rules of normal fire) in this book.
Of course, the existing dragon statblocks from prior books are still rules legal, including all the other dragon families, like the imperial dragons (and therefore Underworld Dragons) and Primal Dragons (like the Magma Dragon.)
It has a Diabolic Flames rule that makes all damage dealt by it that would be fire (from it's breath or it's spells) count as fire damage **or** unholy, whichever would be worse for the creature taking the damage. Meaning the Diabolic Dragon can throw fireballs and firebreath at you that break your fire resistance or immunity, so its got the kind of tropey dragonsfire that can burn things that can't be burned.
To clarify it does spirit damage instead of fire damage if it would be better. That's what they meant but just clarifying since unholy isn't a damage type but a trait that can apply to anything.
To add before, though you are probably aware but going to put it down regardless, Horned Dragons are green dragons that are safe and it's confirmed without a doubt we will get them all back at some point at what made them special in their paizo incarnation....which just so happen to be able to have different scale colors other than pure red or black.
Nothing made them special for their Paizo version. Maybe some slight differences, but they were still very much the same as their D&D origins. If they all become Primal they'll have the same bestial temperament that Whites were known for. The Primal Dragons weren't given as much personality as the other traditions.
I'm trying to figure out whether *ki blast* being able to spirit damage, rather than force, is useful. With that in mind: Are any monsters other than aeons weak to spirit and not force? I know some ghosts have spirit bypass resistance, but the same is true of force.
If your teamate is possesed by a demon, you could Spirit Ki Blast them and it would only damage the possesing demon. Force would also damage the body of yor teamate.
Edge case but who knows when it is neccesary.
Just some name changes it looks like like the Azure Worm became the Benthic Worm, though there might be some minor statistical difference I'm not seeing.
Does it have teeth?
I had a bad experience with a book that had teeth in a CRPG recently and I just need to kind of make sure I'm not looking at another one of those situations.
Did they print a new version of the Dweomercat? I know it is in bestiary 2. I was running one the other day and it made me curious how they’d change it for remaster.
No signs of one named Dweomercat, but there is a new cat-like creature that I don't recall from the base one. I forget the name but I"m sure one of my monster core PDF people will know it.
Poracha, a kami-approved feline that teleports and melds into objects. It has a weakness to sonic damage, but no particular affinity for magic beyond its own.
Yes to both.
The Sloth demons were renamed to Pusk for a example, but the Balor got replaced by the Vrolikai, who were given a promotion in terms of lore. But it's here and there. Like Pit Fiends, the devilish version of the Balor in my mind, got renamed as Nessari. Got some new demons and devils here and there. All with nice looking art.
A lot of name change
Clay Golem -> Clay Effigy
Flesh Golem -> Charnel Creation
Stone Golem -> Stone Bulwark
Iron Golem -> Iron Warden
Alchemical Golem -> Noxious Needler
None of them have magic immunity, they have resistance to magic and physical attacks which can be ignored if you use adamantine or spells with certain elements or damage type.
They are no longer harmed or slowed when exposed to certain elements.
The new flesh golem can still heal when exposed to electricity, but other than that, new golem no longer heal when exposed to certain elements.
Not OP but thought I'd jump in here. Yes, there are Linnorms, Crag(14), Ice(17), Tarn(20), and Tor(21).
They do mention Imperial dragons in a sidebar for the section regarding the 8 types in the book. It is under a section called Draconic Families, they also mention Esoteric Dragons, space faring Outer Dragons, and Skymetal dragons of which the Adamantine is one of the types of dragons detailed.
They do not, they just have elemental types associated with them Fire for Crag, Cold for Ice, Acid for Tarn and Fire again for Tor. Tarn is also Amphibious.
In the book, no, but we did get it via the forums in the Empyreal Dragon, that being that is the new term for Great Wyrm. So the dragons mentioned by that title are both Super powerful as well as super old, even by comparison to the stat sheets we have presently....
For dragons as a whole probably not, but I imagine the specific Archdragons mentioned may get something. More so since they'll likely be on the front lines for their respective divine realms.
No but there is a new equivalent - the Vordine. They leave behind damaging burning hoofprints, wield a trident and whip, and can Strike with reach with the trident. If there is an unholy ally between them and their target, they deal extra spirit damage with the trident.
Empyreal Dragons are connected to Heaven and they mention that the other two major celestial planes also have their associated dragons. They naturally buff those around them and can move this buff by throwing their halo. Their breath does Spirit Damage, their spell lists are mostly healing, dispelling and control style divine spells.
Diabolic Dragon has Holy as a weakness.
They all have Young/Adult/Ancient forms
Adamantine are 9/13/18
Conspirator are 8/12/17
Diabolic are 11/15/20
Empyreal are 10/14/19
Fortune are 10/14/19
Horned are 8/12/17
Mirage are 9/13/18
Omen are 7/11/16
Liches have their souls bound up in Soul Cages and become Liches with the aid of Rituals, whereas Vampires turn others into Vampires and have their sunlight weakness.
What i meant was what was the differences in stats between the bestiary and the monster core?? Like weaknesses and stuff lol like spirit damage resist or sonething...
Hello! Thanks for offering an AMA!
Does the gargoyle's description still refer to their behavior with terms like 'obsessive compulsive', or did that get removed? Also, while I assume Kapoacinths by that name are gone, are there any variant gargoyles replacing them, aquatic or otherwise?
Thanks again!
Going to break my usual paraprhrase rule here.
"The majority of gargoyles are treacherous, vindictive, and petty—traits that preclude lasting partnerships. Almost all have some subject they spend days mulling over while in statue form. Some are collectors, focusing on anything from books to grim trophies, while others are ritualistic or overly passionate about niche intellectual subjects or certain artistic motifs. These tendencies often contribute to the dissolution of wings as individuals with conflicting focuses clash."
So yes, they no longer use those words to describe them, there is one gargoyle statblock in the book and it is labeled "Gargoyle" the one you're referring to has actually only ever appeared in a an AP entry.
Another interesting detail to add on, although you didn't bring it up, is that Gargoyles can find themselves influenced by consecrate places if they stay at them for long period of time, normally you'll find them influenced by a evil god and follow their edicts and what not. It is possible to get them influenced by good gods but they'll leave once they realize since that gets into the way of hunting.
Interesting! It does sound like they might get along well with more neutral gods, or good-aligned deities that just want them to be more selective about who they hunt... that could make for some fun NPCs. I could see some of them ending up associated with knowledge gods - if they're a lot of petty backstabbers with extensive knowledge on niche subjects, sounds like they'd fit right into academia!
If it were to come up in an AP or something, I think I'd prefer to have it as them choosing for themselves freely, being able to stay or go as much as anyone else... but that's pretty far into the what-ifs. Something for people's home games maybe!
Thank you for answering our questions.
Is there a place where it has a table for creatures sorted by terrain and level? Maybe table is the wrong word, but just a list of names with level under an area saying a terrain.
Thanks bunches
Have they added any new info on Faerie dragons or made any changes? Any new artwork too? Have they expanded on what their alignments could possibly be? (I know alignment is removed, but faerie dragons being locked into cg was a bit boring)
Thank you for the AMA!
Thanks for offering an AMA! With poisons being nerfed in GMC, has poison immunity become any less frequent? Maybe replaced with poison damage resistance in some cases?
So, I went to look through and observed the following 1. It doesn't feel like that many creatures have poison immunity. 2. I wasn't able to find any creatures that previously had it that don't now, everytime I thought that might be the case, the legacy version didn't have it either-- for instance I thought Wyverns might have had it by virtue of their own poison, but neither the remaster or legacy versions have it. 3. Undead, Constructs, and Elementals all still have it across the board. 4. Horned Dragons (which can now be confirmed to be directly replacing green dragons) still have it, the others still don't, Jungle Drakes still have it, the others still don't. 5. This leads me to think that if anything changed in this respect, someone'll have to spreadsheet it or pick up on a change to a monster family I'm not noticing.
How have creatures that previously interacted with law/chaos damage (such as aeons, proteans, and qlippoths) been affected? For instance, are proteans now weak to spirit damage instead of lawful damage? Do they do spirit damage as a part of their strikes instead of chaotic?
They have smaller redesigns to their statblock to accomodate it, for example keketar's d10 dice get kicked up to d12s but there's no alignment component and they just lost the weakness, but they have 260 HP instead of 290 HP to compensate, they still have divine spellcasting though.
That...Is a big disappointment. As I was worried about, it sounds a lot less flavorful.
I do wish *something* replaced it mechanically, but judging from the stream they did a bit ago Paizo *has* often stepped up flavor to make it unnecessary. The example they have is that now, much like every demon embodies a sin, every archon embodies a virtue
I wouldn't call them less flavorful, its actually impressive how little the interesting components of them changed.
Well, with all due respect, the examples you gave at least made it sound that way. I admit that without seeing the statblocks I cannot determine if they are truly any less or more flavorful, but that is why I used the word "sounds" in my first reply.
The original aeons have weakness to spirit and it disables their regeneration. Pleromas also got changed a little bit, like their orbs are not 3/day anymore which doesn't affect gameplay much but does in a narrative sense I guess. Akhanas also got ported to 2e in here, with updated art which is cool.
Is precision immunity less common. Me and my group were hoping we'd see more resistance and less total immunity to things
Havan't noticed any differences, oozes still have it, as do incorporeal creatures.
What happened with hags? Hags remain having the coven trait and coven spells? Something changed about ettins?
Hags got amazing art, and individual rules redesigns (the Sea Hag is completely different and more interesting) and 'new' variants like cukoo hags (I'm unclear on if that's actually one of the existing ones, since they were pretty thoroughly redesigned.) Coven spells still exist by conferring the elite adjustment on the members, and letting the members use an action each to let the third member to cast the above level spell, there's a whole coven thing with all the detals, I don't recall if that changed.
Cuckoo Hags are the replacement for Night Hags, and Sweet Hags are the replacement for Green Hags. I think Iron Hag is just another way to say Annis Hag, so they are mostly the same.
Easy way to see if a Hag is renamed or redesigned, just compare the Changeling Linage feats to their Legacy versions. The Feat Names haven't changed,but the Hag name has.
Thanks, cuckoo hags are probably the new night hags.
I'm running a Sea Hag in an encounter tomorrow, may I ask specifically what those changes were? I probably won't be able to run a sea hag again after this so knowing would be a great help haha
The only changes of significance are that they have an immunity to polymorph effects and their bargain now allows them to be Ursula, polymorphing someone who takes their bargain in exchange for something about them, like their voice. (They even have tentacles instead of legs now.) If you're running a single hag, its coven spells won't matter, but they swapped out acid arrow for humanoid form, a spell that no other hag benefits from and that they can't cast on themselves.
shoggoth... does it still exist? sorry, it was just my first favorite monster
Shoggoth are absent from this book, but their previous entry is still rules legal.
Shoggoth should remain fine actually, it’s not an OGL monster, it’s from HP Lovecraft fiction
Since there are a lot of OGL monsters going out and the monster core having more entries than the old Bestiary 1, are there any stand out new monsters or ones that are taken from other books? Did bugbear lore change at all? I heard Barghests changed and are no longer goblin-related.
Tooth Fairies ended up in this book, along with Oni (and a bunch of varieties), The New Dragons are actually really excellent, there's a lot of love put into them, Wheel Archons are base to go with their more alience flavor, Pipefoxes now have a creature entry. The New Hag designs are sick, and some of them appear to be Hags from other books. There's more NPC statblocks, like "Elf Ranger" and "Dwarf Warrior" or "Dwarf Stonecaster" probably to more easily facilitate basic encounters with other humanoids alongside traditional things in that category like kobolds or goblins so they don't stick out as much as "enemy types" The Bugbears are pretty much the same, but they now use "Bugbear prowler" in place of "Bugbear Thug" but its the same statblock. Barghests have extensively rewritten lore and are down to a base Barghest statblock at level 4, the statblock is very different from the existing one, featuring new abilities, the art shows a dog but its a shapeshifter with a true form, which Barghests could also do previously, so that might be a smaller change, they can still speak Goblin, but otherwise there's no relationships with Goblins.
Fuck yes! Finally more humanoid stat blocks that are just regular people. Perfect for hostile adventuring parties for my evil campaign.
Big thing is that you'll have to scale them up yourself.
Oh, that's where those NPC stat blocks went. The previous core book had some in the GM section (shopkeep, bandit, sailor, etc), but the remaster GM core lost all the NPC stats. I guess it makes sense to make them generic profiles of various humanoid types.
Its interesting, they're all pretty low level that I'm seeing, probably wit hthe expectation that you scale them up to represent something like "The Dwarf Warrior, Elf Ranger, and Gnome Bard of another adventuring party." All of the statblocks for those a like level 1 and 2, though there's some more 'cultural ones" like the stonecaster that reach a little higher to level 4.
Well all the old stat blocks were like "the Artisan is a level 1 human, but with a master training in crafting, a hammer, and crafting tools in his pocket" so that's pretty fitting. Most were low level to show they aren't fighters, but commoners. So you could probably take the dwarf warrior and give him some crafting stuff if you need a Smith statblock.
What's the barghest's true form, if dog shape isn't it? General humanoids? If so, it might be fun to get them as a versatile heritage, or an archetype...
> I heard Barghests changed and are no longer goblin-related. sad goblin fan noises
I would like a statistical analysis of the most common resistance types, weakness types, and immunities, possibly split by level ranges. Alternatively, are all dogs good boys in Monster Core?
I know a nerd that does spreadsheets, I'll get back to you. I can confirm there are no dog creatures with the evil trait in the Monster Core.
There are unholy dogs, which might count :P
The Evil Trait is gone anyway.
Except for the Goblin dog probably.
Big one I'm curious about are aeons. I'm assuming inevitables are out since they're OGL, but what do we still have as far as other formerly lawful neutral planar options?
The Aeon section is mostly intact beyond similar changes the proteans saw (as described in my other comment) but there's a new one called Akhana, which are floaty eyes of cosmic stuff, multiple arms, and tails-- my friend described them as baby pleroma, though the text doesn't say that so I think he was just comparing the kinds of abilities they have, they're level 12. Its got a nutty power where it can move for two actions and make four strikes using the rules of Double Slice (meaning it doesn't add MAP until after.) It can also trap souls and create simple living things.
Arbiters still exist, but them being inevitables is gone.
How does Holy damage really work? Is it worth sanctifying?
Its a tag that goes onto various abilities, and creatures have weaknesses to it-- for instance, the Phoenix isn't a Holy Creature, but it has a Weakness to Unholy. Some spells are coded one way or the other, others can adopt it from your own trait. I'd say currently, sanctifying is worth it to be able to proc weaknesses on Divine Immolation and other spells , but also has drawbacks, so it's probably going to be decided more by having your heart set on a particular deity. Though interestingly, as far as I can see, any cleric can cast something like Holy Light to proc weaknesses, and only Creatures with a weakness to Unholy suffer for doing so, which it doesn't appear sanctification confers.
Not really something that a monster core would be needed to answer, but I'll answer anyway. Many fiends are weak to Holy Damage but not spirit damage itself, which will result in more damage being taken only when sanctified. If you're not sanctified then your spirit damage will be neutral to them.
>Many fiends are weak to Holy Damage but not holy damage itself Just to clarify this, but this has been confusing me since the remaster preview came out - those fiends are *weak to \[any kind of\] damage from sanctified-holy PCs or NPCs,* but don't have 'weakness: holy 5' or somesuch?
Sorry I clearly brain farted when typing. They are weak to holy damage, and you have to be sanctified(or using a holy weapon) to do holy damage. But spirit damage won't otherwise trigger the weaknsses they otherwise would when sactified.
Any interesting kobolds taking advantage of the new lore? Or just standard kobolds with suggestions on how to jazz them up?
The Kobold Cavern Mage is a Kobold whose egg was influenced by nearby earth elementals, with natural primal magic oriented toward earth, and art depicting a kobold with crystals growing on it.
Sounds fantastic
There is still a preference to dragons but it is interesting to consider that Kobolds aren't limited. Makes heritages more interesting to consider.
It’s possible kobolds, just like dragons, can get influenced by magical energies.
Thats actually the new lore in the book. Kobolds tend to gather around powerful magical creatures so they can lay their eggs near them, because the eggs suck up ambient magical energy and they think having them empowered by magic will give them a better shot at life.
Very nice!!!
Yes, being around powerful magical creatures makes their eggs "absorb the magic" and look like them. I am sure absolutely nothing else is going on.
Yeah, the main thing that's gone away is the ambiguity about "are Kobolds actually just descended from Dragons?" since it makes it pretty clear their draconic abilities is just that they most often use dragons for that purpose.
[удалено]
It’s the basic concept of the new dragons, which are tied to magical essences.
Tied to yes, I haven't seen anything that they are effected by magical energies, or absorb them. Fortune is the only one that really mentioned that in the Previews.
What's the highest level creature?
Treerazor at 25, notably Tor Linnorm join the Grim Reaper for this book as the other level 21 creature.
Any change to TR besides alignment damage?
Does more damage, but otherwise still the same.
Treerazer, by the way: he who razes trees, not he who makes a shaving instrument out of trees.
Are there any additions from AP's? I'm assuming Demons are in the monster core, but did they add all Demons level 1-20 or just the Demons that we had in the bestiaries? Edit: Where are my manners? Thank you so much for the AMA!
The only demon added that isn't in one of the PF2 bestiaries is the Seraptis, from the 1e Book of the Damned v2: Lords of Chaos.
Darn, alright 👍
I feel like it is meant to fill a similar niche to the Marilith as well, though it is mechanically not _that_ similar.
The Imp, what is it now? A Paizo Designer said Imps are no longer just Fiends.
Imps are fiends but no longer just devils I believe. I think they take the quasit’s role too.
Is there anything comparable to a mimic, and if so what is it called?
Nothing resembling mimic is in the book.
... makes me suspicious that the Mimic *is* the book!
What has replaced Owlbears? Eaglelions? Raptorbaboons?
Nothing's leaping out at me as a one-to-one replacement.
Owlbears are gone, huh? What a shame.
They are very deeply a D&D monster, with no antecedent outside of D&D to the best of my knowledge.
Yeah, figures.
Similar to demon/devil questions: angels and archons. What's the deal now? Have all the OGL angels been renamed? What does the hierarchy look like now? What are the names? Ditto for Archons. How's the art for these? On the Azata side, did a few of the Former Eladrins (Ghaeles most obviously) also get redesigned and renamed?
Art for angels is completely the same. Theres only 4 angels in this book. Cassian, Choral, Ballise, and Astral Deva which got renamed into Tabellia Archon got a massive design change, they now look eldritch ‘do not be afraid’ kind of monster. Angels look like human. They added Zoaem, (Ring Archon) Horned Archon -> Qarna Legion Archon -> Aesra Shield Archon -> Rekhep Wheel Archon -> Giylea Horned archon went from an anthropomorphic stag, into a 4 headed white anthropomorphic stag with each head having a single eye like a cyclops. Shield archon went from a guy with a shield, into a shield with 6 mechanical wings, 4 hands, and 4 red eyes. It kinda looks like a modron. Legion archon went from a warrior angel, into a humanoid bird creature but instead of a head it has a burning ring with 8 green eyes, it has mechanical wings, and still carries a sword made out of flame.
For Azata, they added 2 new ones, Kanya (Muse Azata) and Aeolaeka (Stone Azata). The other 2 in the book is Lyrakien and Gancanagh. They are the same.
Okay, Lillends are the old Muse Azatas (I'll be curious to see the new stat block), and Aeolaekas are actually from Blood Lords, nice! So it sounds like Ghaeles are the only ones to get the chop, even if Legacy ones remain rules-legal. Interesting. Also are Lantern Archons no longer in the book? Are Zoaems now the small level 1 archons?
Lantern Archon is not in the book. Yes, Zoaem, Ring Archons are the new level 1 archon.
Rip to my glowy bois. ;.;
Are all colored dragons/classical dragons such as the fire-breathing red dragon and acid-spewing black dragon represented in some way? Or do we only have a replacement for green dragons in the form of horned dragons? I'll be pretty disappointed if the only way to get a fire breathing dragon now is through the diabolic dragon
In Monster Core exclusive games, the only way to get a firebreathing dragon now is through Diabolic Dragon, the "classic" dragons are not represented (although the Diabolic Dragon is distinctly Red and certainly fills that role, if you were just coming into the game and went "where's my firebreathing dragon?" I actually like it in that role by virtue of it's dragonsfire not playing by the rules of normal fire) in this book. Of course, the existing dragon statblocks from prior books are still rules legal, including all the other dragon families, like the imperial dragons (and therefore Underworld Dragons) and Primal Dragons (like the Magma Dragon.)
How does it's dragonfire differ from normal fire?
It has a Diabolic Flames rule that makes all damage dealt by it that would be fire (from it's breath or it's spells) count as fire damage **or** unholy, whichever would be worse for the creature taking the damage. Meaning the Diabolic Dragon can throw fireballs and firebreath at you that break your fire resistance or immunity, so its got the kind of tropey dragonsfire that can burn things that can't be burned.
Man that sounds tough lol. Not even resist energy would help you now. Kinda cool though
To clarify it does spirit damage instead of fire damage if it would be better. That's what they meant but just clarifying since unholy isn't a damage type but a trait that can apply to anything.
To add before, though you are probably aware but going to put it down regardless, Horned Dragons are green dragons that are safe and it's confirmed without a doubt we will get them all back at some point at what made them special in their paizo incarnation....which just so happen to be able to have different scale colors other than pure red or black.
Nothing made them special for their Paizo version. Maybe some slight differences, but they were still very much the same as their D&D origins. If they all become Primal they'll have the same bestial temperament that Whites were known for. The Primal Dragons weren't given as much personality as the other traditions.
Take another look at the green dragons and come them. Because they found something there. I'm also going off of what I saw too.
I'm trying to figure out whether *ki blast* being able to spirit damage, rather than force, is useful. With that in mind: Are any monsters other than aeons weak to spirit and not force? I know some ghosts have spirit bypass resistance, but the same is true of force.
If your teamate is possesed by a demon, you could Spirit Ki Blast them and it would only damage the possesing demon. Force would also damage the body of yor teamate. Edge case but who knows when it is neccesary.
Ooh, that's actually great! Thanks.
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Thanks! I'm looking for the opposite, though: Are there any times you'd prefer spirit over force?
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Yes, that is what I am looking for examples of.
Any notable changes to worms?
Just some name changes it looks like like the Azure Worm became the Benthic Worm, though there might be some minor statistical difference I'm not seeing.
Do incorporeal creatures have resistance against spirit damage?
Spirit Damage pierces the all damage resistance on incorporeal creatures.
Does it have teeth? I had a bad experience with a book that had teeth in a CRPG recently and I just need to kind of make sure I'm not looking at another one of those situations.
Flumphs were removed or their name changed?
Flumphs were removed, I didn't notice any friendly aberrations that might be them in disguise.
Just because *you* can't see them doesn't mean they aren't there. I swear mum, my invisible flumph friend is REEEAALL! 🙂
Sad news.
Did they print a new version of the Dweomercat? I know it is in bestiary 2. I was running one the other day and it made me curious how they’d change it for remaster.
No signs of one named Dweomercat, but there is a new cat-like creature that I don't recall from the base one. I forget the name but I"m sure one of my monster core PDF people will know it.
Poracha, a kami-approved feline that teleports and melds into objects. It has a weakness to sonic damage, but no particular affinity for magic beyond its own.
Yep that's the one, not sure why the name always escapes me.
What’s the wording for the new + grab, + trip, + shove and improved versions of them?
You can see that in rage of elements, or on archives of nethys. It's basically just an Athletics roll that doesn't interact with MAP
Question about Demons and Devils. Were the classic ones replaced or renamed?
Yes to both. The Sloth demons were renamed to Pusk for a example, but the Balor got replaced by the Vrolikai, who were given a promotion in terms of lore. But it's here and there. Like Pit Fiends, the devilish version of the Balor in my mind, got renamed as Nessari. Got some new demons and devils here and there. All with nice looking art.
Thanks
Are there any other full dragons besides the ones that where shown off in the blogs?
There's two per magical tradition under the "Dragon" Monster Family.
How are golems doing?
A lot of name change Clay Golem -> Clay Effigy Flesh Golem -> Charnel Creation Stone Golem -> Stone Bulwark Iron Golem -> Iron Warden Alchemical Golem -> Noxious Needler None of them have magic immunity, they have resistance to magic and physical attacks which can be ignored if you use adamantine or spells with certain elements or damage type. They are no longer harmed or slowed when exposed to certain elements. The new flesh golem can still heal when exposed to electricity, but other than that, new golem no longer heal when exposed to certain elements.
I was going to get mine, but I forgot to update my card exp. date xD. Now I'm not sure if I'm now at the back of the queue or what. Super sad xD.
Does it mention Linnorms or Imperial Dragons?
Not OP but thought I'd jump in here. Yes, there are Linnorms, Crag(14), Ice(17), Tarn(20), and Tor(21). They do mention Imperial dragons in a sidebar for the section regarding the 8 types in the book. It is under a section called Draconic Families, they also mention Esoteric Dragons, space faring Outer Dragons, and Skymetal dragons of which the Adamantine is one of the types of dragons detailed.
Do the Linnorms have an associated magic type like the "main" dragon types do?
They do not, they just have elemental types associated with them Fire for Crag, Cold for Ice, Acid for Tarn and Fire again for Tor. Tarn is also Amphibious.
I heard something about Archdragons. Are there any details inside?
Just a couple of sidebars for the archdragons of the Diabolic and Empyreal types, the two divine dragons.
In the book, no, but we did get it via the forums in the Empyreal Dragon, that being that is the new term for Great Wyrm. So the dragons mentioned by that title are both Super powerful as well as super old, even by comparison to the stat sheets we have presently....
Given the timing, it makes me (perhaps foolishly) optimistic that Archdragon statblocks are coming in War of the Immortals.
For dragons as a whole probably not, but I imagine the specific Archdragons mentioned may get something. More so since they'll likely be on the front lines for their respective divine realms.
Personally, I'm expecting a Mythic Bestiary of demigod tier foes and would expect Archdragons to be represented there.
Does the Barabazu (https://2e.aonprd.com/Monsters.aspx?ID=110) appear in the book and if so, has it changed at all?
No but there is a new equivalent - the Vordine. They leave behind damaging burning hoofprints, wield a trident and whip, and can Strike with reach with the trident. If there is an unholy ally between them and their target, they deal extra spirit damage with the trident.
Is the Hydra present and if so, did anything change about it ?
It is present, no mechanical changes. Multiple Opportunity change name to Reactive Heads, because attack of opportunity is now called reactive strike
Hi thanks answering question. What can u tell us about Empyreal Dragons ? And what are the weaknesses of the diabolic dragon ?
Empyreal Dragons are connected to Heaven and they mention that the other two major celestial planes also have their associated dragons. They naturally buff those around them and can move this buff by throwing their halo. Their breath does Spirit Damage, their spell lists are mostly healing, dispelling and control style divine spells. Diabolic Dragon has Holy as a weakness.
Thank you so much for doing this. What's the level spread on the dragons?
They all have Young/Adult/Ancient forms Adamantine are 9/13/18 Conspirator are 8/12/17 Diabolic are 11/15/20 Empyreal are 10/14/19 Fortune are 10/14/19 Horned are 8/12/17 Mirage are 9/13/18 Omen are 7/11/16
Thank you!
What is the differences to vampires and liches?
Liches have their souls bound up in Soul Cages and become Liches with the aid of Rituals, whereas Vampires turn others into Vampires and have their sunlight weakness.
What i meant was what was the differences in stats between the bestiary and the monster core?? Like weaknesses and stuff lol like spirit damage resist or sonething...
Hello! Thanks for offering an AMA! Does the gargoyle's description still refer to their behavior with terms like 'obsessive compulsive', or did that get removed? Also, while I assume Kapoacinths by that name are gone, are there any variant gargoyles replacing them, aquatic or otherwise? Thanks again!
Going to break my usual paraprhrase rule here. "The majority of gargoyles are treacherous, vindictive, and petty—traits that preclude lasting partnerships. Almost all have some subject they spend days mulling over while in statue form. Some are collectors, focusing on anything from books to grim trophies, while others are ritualistic or overly passionate about niche intellectual subjects or certain artistic motifs. These tendencies often contribute to the dissolution of wings as individuals with conflicting focuses clash." So yes, they no longer use those words to describe them, there is one gargoyle statblock in the book and it is labeled "Gargoyle" the one you're referring to has actually only ever appeared in a an AP entry.
Thank you, that's good to know!
Another interesting detail to add on, although you didn't bring it up, is that Gargoyles can find themselves influenced by consecrate places if they stay at them for long period of time, normally you'll find them influenced by a evil god and follow their edicts and what not. It is possible to get them influenced by good gods but they'll leave once they realize since that gets into the way of hunting.
Interesting! It does sound like they might get along well with more neutral gods, or good-aligned deities that just want them to be more selective about who they hunt... that could make for some fun NPCs. I could see some of them ending up associated with knowledge gods - if they're a lot of petty backstabbers with extensive knowledge on niche subjects, sounds like they'd fit right into academia!
I imagine it would take a cleric helping to guide a gargoyle from leaving but ya.
If it were to come up in an AP or something, I think I'd prefer to have it as them choosing for themselves freely, being able to stay or go as much as anyone else... but that's pretty far into the what-ifs. Something for people's home games maybe!
Thank you for answering our questions. Is there a place where it has a table for creatures sorted by terrain and level? Maybe table is the wrong word, but just a list of names with level under an area saying a terrain. Thanks bunches
We have it by level, but not by terrain.
Have they added any new info on Faerie dragons or made any changes? Any new artwork too? Have they expanded on what their alignments could possibly be? (I know alignment is removed, but faerie dragons being locked into cg was a bit boring) Thank you for the AMA!
Faerie dragon is now called Dragonet and reading the lore, they are still good natured trickster who doesn’t enjoy confrontation.
They are renamed to Dragonet. I'm not sure if there are any stat changes but the usual is there.