First of all, we thank Giochi Uniti for sending us a copy of PF2 Bestiary 1 in Italian so we could write this review. The manual is also available in English at the Paizo official store in hardcover for $49.99 (€49.95) or in PDF format for $14.99.
Before starting into the actual review, it is important to know that it is necessary to also have access to the Core Rulebook in order to understand and use the Bestiary 1 of PF2. For more information about it, I invite you to read my complete review.
The Spirit of the Manual
This important supplement for Pathfinder Second Edition was created using the main guidelines of the basic manual and this is just a big plus. Clarity, order, and usefulness – reading it really is a pleasure! Legends, references and canonical nomenclature, everything contributes to create a standard of language that is simple to understand and difficult to misunderstand.
At the beginning, there is an index of creatures in alphabetical order, at the end one that lists them by type and another one from lowest to highest by level (also including the type of creature and its rarity). The margin of each page shows which letter the entries you are perusing belong. Everything comfortably in its proper place. This method of organization might seem obvious, but it isn’t; it makes finding the right creature at the right time really easy … so it doesn’t break the narrative by killing the momentum of play to use!
PF2 Bestiary 1 Content Review
The first pages of the manual are dedicated to some tips on how to read the creature stat blocs. Nothing innovative, but certainly an essential part in order to maintain the clarity of the system. In addition to these, some handy rules to enhance or weaken creatures are included. This enables you to adapt the challenges to the party, without feeling bound to the basic level presented. There are some tips on how to interpret the monsters, also, giving explanations regarding the languages they speak and the treasures they possess.
As can be seen from the images included in this review, PF2 Bestiary 1 contains a huge variety of creatures. To be precise, there are more than 400 creatures with full stats and illustrations. These creatures are divided into types: aberration, animal, astral, beast, celestial, construct, dragon, elemental, ethereal, fey, fungus, giant, slime, fiend, undead, monitor, humanoid, and plant. This is only one of the features, however. In addition, you get all you need to run it mechanically and to characterize it for role-play. Side panels give advice on how to exploit them, related places and creatures, particular rewards and additional knowledge, valuable and greatly appreciated.
Finally, there are also some pages dedicated to in-depth information on aspects common to all monsters; explanations of their sizes, their types and their most common abilities… there is everything you could need! This section is very useful and should be read before diving into the individual monsters, in order to fully understand them.
The Manual & Its Structure
This manual is splendid, bound under hard cover with more than 350 pages packed with content. The Bestiary 1 of PF2 is a beautiful massive tome. Its aesthetic style is perfectly in line with the Core Rulebook: same dimensions, same details, and same cover style – everything a collector could ask for to place the two side by side in their library. The pages are sturdy, of high quality, beautiful to flip through. The layout, on the other hand, differs from the Core Rulebook. Here, all the contents are formatted in a single column, a good choice to me to make the statistics tables more immediately accessible.
Moreover, the aesthetic quality is enhanced by another element of central importance: the illustrations. Magnificent! The cover itself is incredibly evocative. Who wouldn’t venture into a forest inhabited by hungry trolls and hydras? Each monster has its illustration next to its stat bloc, and none of them give the impression of being “filler”. Evocative, impeccably colored, and always with an attractive design; I haven’t found even one that has disappointed me. Here, too, the graphic style fully follows that of the Core Rulebook, giving an excellent feeling of continuity. To make it clear how much I liked them, I can tell you I struggled to choose which one to include in this article!
Final Considerations of the PF2 Bestiary 1 Review
The Bestiary 1 of PF2 is very classic and always a useful manual. It holds no particular surprises, but it consistently helps Game Masters in search of ready-to-use monsters. Indeed, in addition to this, I think it is an excellent starting point to learn how to create your own personalized creatures.
The monsters presented cover rather a varied range: some are classics of the genre, others are original. In any case, they are fascinating and very useful for setting your adventures on Golarion (the official game world), and beyond. We see here the classic goblins, dragons, devils, trolls and the like, and the more bizarre creatures, too. Among them, for instance, is a “cute” bird as big as a wolf whose chirping confuses the senses of its prey, driving them to attack each other, fighting to the death, then feeding on their remains.
Considering their aesthetic value, I also recommend this manual to those who want to have a complete collection of Pathfinder Second Edition manuals. If you are a player (or, better, a Game Master) passionate about this game system, you will hardly be disappointed by its contents.
