dave2008
Legend
I am planning to read and review the PF2e Bestiary monster by monster. I plan to rank each monster in three categories: Art; Stats/Mechanics; Lore.
Each category will get a score from 0-2:
0 = Bad. Not what I would expect for this type of book and / or this level of creature. poor or incomplete or uninspired art, lore, or mechanics that add nothing to the reading, viewing, or play experience.
1 = Below Average. A little below expectations for what I would like to see in a bestiary and/or this level of creature.
2 = Average. What I expect to see for a monster in this type of book and/or this level of creature. You buy this book expecting to get scores of 1.
3 = Above Average. Slightly better than what I expect from a bestiary entry and/or this level of creature. Good art, lore, or mechanics.
4 = Exceptional. Above and beyond what I expect for a bestiary and/or this level of creature. Really great art, lore, or mechanics that make it a joy to read, look at, or play.
Then I provide a total score for each monster (the average of the art, stat, and lore score) with the same ratings as noted above for each category.
I love monster books and though I don't think I will be playing PF2e (and I didn't play PF1e) I always like to get another monster book. Heck 75% of the reason I purchased 5e adventures was for the new monsters! Anyway, I finally got to see the PF2e Bestiary in person yesterday and decided I didn't want to purchase the hard copy, but I did pick up the PDF for this review.
Also, in the list below, if the letter in front of the spoiler tag is red and a larger font, that indicates that letter has at least some completed reviews. Letters with no review yet are gray.
Table of Contents:
A-D
E-J
K-P
Q-Z
First Impressions:
Final Impressions:
EDIT: There was some confusion about how / why I rate things, so I have tried to clarify things with a little update to the OP.
EDIT 2: It was pointed out to me that I missed some of trait modifiers in my review. As such I will be looking over the A's again before I start the Bs. Adjusting any ratings as needed.
EDIT 3: I have also decided to change the ranks from 0-4 (instead of 0-2) to give me a bit more flexibility. I am updating scores as I go through the As. I have also provided a Table of Contents with hyperlinks to the review.
Each category will get a score from 0-2:
0 = Bad. Not what I would expect for this type of book and / or this level of creature. poor or incomplete or uninspired art, lore, or mechanics that add nothing to the reading, viewing, or play experience.
1 = Below Average. A little below expectations for what I would like to see in a bestiary and/or this level of creature.
2 = Average. What I expect to see for a monster in this type of book and/or this level of creature. You buy this book expecting to get scores of 1.
3 = Above Average. Slightly better than what I expect from a bestiary entry and/or this level of creature. Good art, lore, or mechanics.
4 = Exceptional. Above and beyond what I expect for a bestiary and/or this level of creature. Really great art, lore, or mechanics that make it a joy to read, look at, or play.
Then I provide a total score for each monster (the average of the art, stat, and lore score) with the same ratings as noted above for each category.
I love monster books and though I don't think I will be playing PF2e (and I didn't play PF1e) I always like to get another monster book. Heck 75% of the reason I purchased 5e adventures was for the new monsters! Anyway, I finally got to see the PF2e Bestiary in person yesterday and decided I didn't want to purchase the hard copy, but I did pick up the PDF for this review.
Also, in the list below, if the letter in front of the spoiler tag is red and a larger font, that indicates that letter has at least some completed reviews. Letters with no review yet are gray.
Table of Contents:
A-D
E-J
K-P
Q-Z
First Impressions:
A few quick thoughts as I previewed the print and PDF copy
- It is a big hefty book. It is similar page count to the 5e MM, but feels heftier.
- Cover Art: I'm a little tired of WAR's style, but I like this cover piece. I think his style works better for monsters than it does for people and I like what I'm seeing. My one complaint is the color is a bit monochromatic / under saturated (and the troll's hands a bit over-sized).
- PDF: Nice bookmarks, but no hyperlinks (bit of a disappointment). But it is extra nice you can get a legal PDF!
- Format/Layout: I like the general format of the stat block; however, because it takes up about 2/3 of the page width, there a lot of instances of the art work encroaching on the stat block. I don't like this and it was a big factor in why I didn't spring for the print version. The like the extra width of the stat block with room for notes, but I would rather the image find a location other than in the stat block. There are some other oddities (demon "lord" not located with the demons; green dragon spell casting side bar on the blue dragon stat page), but in general it works. The index, glossary, traits, and monsters by level sections are all useful. I do wish there was list of monsters by type though. (EDIT: there is section of creatures by type, but it is less a list and more a paragraph of each type with the monsters jammed in. Not the most useful presentation, but it is there). I also don't like that several monsters have stat blocks that needlessly* bleed onto a 2nd page. That is really annoying to me.
Not yet - I just started!
EDIT: There was some confusion about how / why I rate things, so I have tried to clarify things with a little update to the OP.
EDIT 2: It was pointed out to me that I missed some of trait modifiers in my review. As such I will be looking over the A's again before I start the Bs. Adjusting any ratings as needed.
EDIT 3: I have also decided to change the ranks from 0-4 (instead of 0-2) to give me a bit more flexibility. I am updating scores as I go through the As. I have also provided a Table of Contents with hyperlinks to the review.
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