Phoenix

Of the many creatures that exist in the first Pathfinder bestiary, few are as rife with tropes as the Phoenix. The phoenix is, perhaps, the most recognizable creature in pop culture due to a particularly popular children's story about wizards, alongside the fact that it has been adapted and readapted ad infinitum across all sorts of literature and media.

Beyond how well known it is, the theme of death and rebirth that the phoenix is so readily associated with can be a powerful trope to leverage when you want to bring a little bit of extra drama to your table. What makes the Pathfinder 2nd edition Phoenix stand out? First off, it's gargantuan, making this iteration of the mythical beast literally larger than an elephant.

The phoenix as the book presents is both physically and magically powerful, accentuated by its very high level in comparison to other classically mythical creatures such as the unicorn or the pegasus. Also, unlike other depictions, the phoenix is sapient and can speak a slew of other languages.

There are many different reasons you may want to use a phoenix. As a rare creature, consider what impact a phoenix might have on the environment it inhabits. An enormous, good-aligned, fire-breathing beast could give many dragons a run for its money.

Lastly, I recommend that if you think there is sufficient reason for it to reflavor the phoenix to a different element or damage type. A frost phoenix that lords over a mountain range or a lightning phoenix that heralds a coming storm can make for a compelling and unique version that is unique to your setting.

- Reece

Hook 1 (Max) - Light My Fire

Every seventy-seven years, a fiery mote of magma erupts from the ground, heralding the arrival of a phoenix into the world. The birth of these ferocious creatures is a rare occurrence and a grand event at that. For a week the egg sits in its place, impervious to all magic, burning anyone who gets too close. After some time, a blinding flame bursts forth and envelops everything in a fifty-mile radius, proceeding to burn for months on end.

This, understandably, is not lenient to any creature that is not made of fire actually living a life, so there are precautions taken whenever magi report the emergence of a phoenix egg in the wild.

The trouble is, one of these rocks surfaced beneath the imperial capital and needs to be transported somewhere else before it hatches. Not only must this be done with extreme care, but the job must also be performed without the populace becoming aware of it, lest it causes a panic.

Hook 2 (TJ)- The Festival of Pigmented Plumes

During Fairsun In Tulgolthi lands, you can catch iridescent light shows as the locals celebrate the Festival of Pigmented Plumes. The storytellers all have their own spin on the story of what began this fireworks festival. Some say the adversary was a demon king seeking to corrupt the eggs of the phoenix. Others say it was a draconic empress, bent on removing any opposition to her throne. All agree that the phoenix was very clever and insisted on a fight in familiar terrain. 

In the end, the potent adversary slew the flaming bird, though the clever phoenix was not so easily defeated. As the phoenix's life force slipped away, it burst into one last eruption of flame, igniting the vast stores of flammable powder hidden beneath its nesting materials. This hidden arsenal of explosives served a dual purpose of removing her adversary from existence as well as providing the last catalytic heat needed to hatch her clutch. 

The legend goes on to say that early Tulgolthi people traveled to investigate the massive explosion where they found the phoenix reborn anew, taking care of her young. She imparted to them the news that their oppressor was dead and instructed them on the specifics of the compounds she used to set her trap. Tulgolthi celebrations and warfare have used gunpowder and light shows as a centerpiece on both fronts ever since.

Hook 3 (Reece) - Furies and Fugitives

Kavahar is a strange world full of powerful and strange beasts. Denizens of the elemental planes warn planar travelers not to wander too close to its outskirts as the powers within are extraordinarily dangerous, and escaping off of the world is exceedingly difficult.

On Kavahar, known to outsiders as The Land of Four Furies, four great avian beasts control the very essence of the land. The Fire Phoenix Aan, the Greater Thunderbird Bijal, the Frost Phoenix Thand, and the Greater Tidehawk Gahar. Each of the four furies are so vast and powerful, being anywhere in their vicinity is dangerous to mortals. The constant migrations of the four can shape the land and shift leylines drastically, creating an ever-shifting ecology of chaos.

While sentient elementals are quick to warn travelers of the dangers on Kavahar, they are also incapable of traveling there themselves without risking their own lives, as traveling near one of the four furies can instantly destroy any planar creature caught within the wingbeat-wind of the wrong fury.

This is all particularly unfortunate given that a fugitive of the Brass Kingdom in the Plane of Fire is hiding on Kavahar, out of reach from any of the Elemental Lords. Due to the difficulties inherent in the job, the bounty to retrieve this criminal is exceedingly high. Any mortals willing to risk the danger could make out quite well, assuming they survive...