Pathfinder: Bestiary 5

Image credit: Paizo.com

If there is one thing you can't accuse Paizo of, it is not providing you with enough material to expand your game with. From the numerous Adventure Path modules, to the various Advanced Guides and Ultimate books, to the assortment of Campaign Setting supplements, they've spent the last several years working to make sure as many options as possible are covered.

One key element of this for me, as a GM who is trying to relearn the ropes, is the series of Bestiary books that have been released. While I'm unlikely to get to a point where I'm writing scenarios where my group are having to fight Dagon or C'thulu¹, there have been a whole host of creatures - and potential character races - introduced in each book that I am likely to make use of.

In November, the latest Bestiary volume was released. I picked a copy up from my local game shop as it was released, and have been reading through it since...

What would make a Goblin's day?

One of the things I like about Pathfinder is the work they've put into making races and classes distinct and interesting. Even a class as basic as the Fighter has gained abilities so he isn't just a walking stack of feats any more.

One of the big achievements with the Rise of the Runelords adventure path - the first one Paizo produced - was the work they put into making Goblins interesting. Even without the illustrations of Wayne England, the Ten Fun Facts About Goblins piece in the introduction to the first module, along with how Goblins are handled during the encounters in that module really change how you'll approach the standard lesser greenskin.

With that in mind, and following some jokes and discussions with my Saturday group, I thought it'd be interesting to see what a Goblin would look like if it was infected with lycanthropy. This would probably not be from a bite, but if something like a barghest wanted to influence a Goblin tribe, giving their leader the ability to turn into a wolf would go a long way. Goblins admire and trust wolves, and would likely see such an ability as a blessing from whichever dark god they were worshipping.

Finding a Path: Week 2

After the first Pathfinder session I ran seemed to go fairly well, I was fortunate enough to have a week off before the next session, due to one of the players being unavailable - we all agreed that with only three player characters, it would be a bit off for me to run for the other two while one missed out. So with Kenny absent for a CCG tournament, Dave ran LEGION¹ the following Saturday.

I also had some reading to catch up on. When I was in the final stages of preparing for the first session, I'd found that the town I was sending my players to, Falcon's Hollow, already had quite a lot written about it in supplements that Paizo had produced. I'd picked up three smaller supplements before the first session, and picked up a fourth between the two sessions.

Finding a Path: Week 1

I wouldn't describe myself as a natural choice to run a game - I tend not to be quick on my (mental) feet when put on the spot, and I always have issues coming up with character or location names.

So it came as a bit of a surprise when I found myself volunteering to run a Pathfinder game for our small group on a Saturday, so our regular GM - Dave - could have a break.

Pathfinder - or D&D v3.75, as I like to think of it

While I'd initially been talking about putting a dungeon together to run the other two through, the level of interest being shown by them demanded that we do something a bit bigger than that. As I reread the rules, we gained a third player - Kenny - and a plan began to come together.

Moments from the gaming table #1

I normally take part in a roleplaying group on a Monday evening, and catch up with a couple of the guys for additional sessions on a Saturday. Recently, we've been playing Dave's home-brew LEGION setting, using the d6 Space engine as a base - think the old West End Games Star Wars system.

Due to our players, as much as our characters, there is normally something which manages to go wrong each week...