Pixie

I could have sworn the Pixie was a Tiny creature and had a bunch of mental material prepared in order to make fun of their tiny toothpick arrows. After learning to read, we find that the pixie is a Small Fey creature of the Sprite variety. This largely just means they use Primal illusion-based spells, and taking a cursory look at their features, that's more or less what you get.

That isn't to say the pixie doesn't pack a punch. Their best tool is undoubtedly Sprinkle Pixie Dust, which basically makes a pixie a crowd-control-only ranged Magus (except it only does the effect instead of dealing damage, but you get me). Customize this feature a bit, add some other crowd control or mental/nonlethal effects and you've got a potent salvo of fey debilitations coming in from 100 feet easy.

If your party is full of murderhobos, this little trickster has a pretty good chance of getting away due to the sheer number of effects its Pixie Dust can imbue upon its arrows (assuming it gets a turn). That shouldn't be a problem, though. Did I forget to mention it's an intelligent creature that can fly? It can be permanently invisible, even when it's attacking. Oh, also, its default attack has a range increment of 100 feet. And it's a level-4 creature. You do the math.

The pixie is a potent combatant to be sure. If the pixie gets into a fight that isn't in an enclosed space, it's going to have a massive advantage. Make sure you take that into account before you pit a bunch of them against your party and make the murderhobos roleplay losing 5+ minutes of their memory.

- TJ

Hook 1 (Nemanja) - The Twins of Renwood

Two identical pixie twins reside in the Renwoods. One is extremely helpful and is happy to guide anyone who wanders astray through the woods, while the other is a sadist who enjoys feeding would-be adventurers to the many trolls, hydras, and hags that call the woods home. More experienced rangers have learned the trick to differentiate them—the good twin hates sugar and will refuse to eat it, while the evil twin is addicted to it. Hence, anyone venturing into the woods is instructed to bring a sweet roll or two with them...

Hook 2 (Max) - The Ancient Liberator

Towns and villages around Ghastwood are plagued by a curse most eerie. Children are going missing during full moons, and some claim to hear their laughter coming from beneath the dark trees of the ancient forest. None dare enter the wood, however, as no one has ever returned from it.

Some speak of spirits haunting the woods while others think that a ferocious beast lives there. Many say they've seen small eyes glinting in the dark, accompanying the ominous giggling.

Alas, there is no beast or ghost, but an ancient force that lies within Ghastwood, older than any city, one that does not comprehend the human notions of good and evil. The children are inevitably drawn to it, and it offers to free them, turning them into something... new. New, but at the same time very, very ancient. They retain their memories but are freed from the shackles of humanity, as the sovereign of the woods grants them their new forms.

Hook 3 (Reece) - The King of Thorns

The King of Thorns was of the most powerful within the Court of Dark Hearts. Before they were locked away behind the Fallowfield, the fey king reigned havoc both within The Infinite Garden as well as the material plane. His most dangerous skill—the one that gained him the status he held within the Dark Court—was his ability to twist both the ambivalent and beneficent fey into hateful, spite-fueled creatures.

Now, locked away from his access to the majority of The Infinite Garden and his access to the material plane, he instead has taken to corruption of the uncaring pixies that wonder too closely to the Fallowfield. It is said that his touch can already be felt across the land. While most pixies are mischievous though innocuous, the Thorn Pixies have taken to mastering the arts of memory manipulation, which they now are using to sow chaos across the land. From the highest of the nobility to the lowliest of peasants, their false memories have cascading effects that are quickly spiraling toward outright civil war. Families turned against one another, friends against friends and lovers against lovers, all on the falsehoods The King of Thorns instructs them to craft.

Biding his time, the chaos has created an opening from which The King of Thorns can escape—some villagers have begun to beseech fey beings for a reprieve from the chaos, and The King is happy to oblige... For a price.

Mitflit

More fey, eh? Complaints about outsiders aside, I do quite like running fey (as stated previously). I think in many cases, using fey is a great excuse to get more flexible with your rules. Should your players find themselves shunted into your fey-world equivalent, there's a lot of ways you can mix things up.

The Mitflit at creature level -1 is something you can use right out of the gate when starting a new campaign from level 1. There's a lot of Gremlins that fit this category, but the mitflit has a few fun mechanics to leverage in use. Its Self-Loathing actually pairs well with Vengeful Anger in that if it has been frightened or tormented, it deals more damage than it otherwise would—something useful for combat that also gives some insight into the mind of this vindictive villain.

Personally, my favorite ability available to the mitflit is its Vermin Empathy in combination with its constant speak with animals. A mitflit with a vendetta may not be incredibly dangerous per se, but it sure will be annoying. 

- Reece

Hook 1 (Nemanja) - Bug Bonanza

In Detroit, the city with the largest concentration of Paranormals in the post-awakening USA, mitflit exterminators are highly sought after—whether the bugs that need chasing away are regular pests or foot-long magical worms and horse-sized arthropods.

The mitflits' popularity comes from how cleanly they do their jobs; there's no toxic chemicals, blood splatter, or (still not fully accepted as real) magic. Instead, the little men simply ask the bugs to leave, and they do as asked.

While the service is well-liked, anyone perceptive enough that finds themselves passing by the Pest Control Agency's warehouse may see an odd image—mitflits seem to be collecting all the vacated pests in one place, feeding, nurturing, and even training them for an unknown purpose.

Hook 2 (TJ) - Crabby Consequences

The tide pools around the southern edge of the Hag's Head Peninsula are teeming with sea life. When the tide goes out, a wide array of urchins, mussels, and crabs remain in these miniature ecosystems. Of particular note are the crabs, who do not shy away from the presence of small humanoids. If you spend enough time around these tide pools, you may find that the crabs seem to understand you. Spend an even longer amount of time here, and the mitflits that have been teaching the crabs may begin to grow envious of your time spent with them. Spend too long here, and the mitflits might just lash out.

Hook 3 (Reece) - Lord of the Flies

Mogrederdi, The Lord of Flies, was content in his kingdom. Others in the Court of Dark Hearts had spent a great amount of time and effort learning powerful shadow magicks or had sworn pacts with Devil Lords to gain an edge in The Eternal War with The Lavender King. The Lord of Flies was not himself powerful among the court, but he had built a... reputation of sorts. His ability to slip past The Lavender King's defenses into the material realm was coveted by many in the court that drew too much attention to themselves.

Mogrederdi did not command a great army of monsters or dark warriors, though he did have one advantage—his friends. Long ago, he had disposed of ideas of grandeur and instead honed a silver tongue for the insignificant creatures of the material plane. The various small insects he brought back would not normally be a problem for his enemies, though the path back from the material plane to The Infinite Garden did strange things to them. They were warped and enlarged during the transfer, making them fearsome creatures. The monstrous beings were not only empowered, but also loyal to their lord for granting them this power.

Yes, Morgrederdi was not himself powerful, but he didn't need power. He had something better—the respect of the powerful.

Leshy

Editors Note: For the first time since our team went from Nemanja on his lonesome to the four of us, we have a guest! Orfane AKA @TTRPGHomebrew AKA Matt has lent his leshy expertise to Beastfider. Thanks to his design (and Sita's wonderful illustrations!) we depart from the usual Beastfinder approach and discuss the leshy as a whole. If you haven't had enough leshy from the bestiaries that are already out, make sure to check out The Botanical Bestiary pre-order here!

Lantern Archon

Lantern Archons may be the simplest of their kind, but they come with some interesting and thematic abilities attached; my personal favourite among them is its ability to pull off a power-rangers combiner transformation.

Thematically, they are supposed to represent a glimmer of hope, so throwing one as a guide in your characters' darkest moment might not be a bad idea either.

- Nemanja

Hook 1 (Max) - The Purging Sky

Weird lights started appearing all over the world. Shining geometric shapes, flying at ludicrous speed, until they stop and hang in place. Attempts at touching them resulted in severe injuries, and several had been since shot from afar.

They are not some magical anomalies, as many speculate, but emissaries, taking up their spots, growing more numerous by the day. It will not take long before they blanket the sky. The nights are already as bright as day.

They wait until all of their brethren arrive. Once this happens, they shall shine with blinding light and give their message, a unified, thundering voice roars throughout all of the world.

"This world has become unpure and full of sin. We are the harbingers of its cleansing. Prepare for the healing flames to envelop you."

And with that, both skies and earth shall part.

Hook 2 (Nemanja) - Shadow of the Lantern's Light

All is not orderly in the archon city of Everlight.

A flock of lantern archons have refused to split again after bonding, and are now stuck in their combined state. What is more, they are accepting more and more archons into the mix, growing considerably more powerful. However, they are still acting as simple lanterns, traveling to the mortal plane to help out wherever they can. As power draws power, and the entity keeps growing, nasty things have started following in its wake...

Hook 3 (Reece) - Beacon in the Night

The great city of Reylar's Rest is anything but restful these days. For the last few months, pressure has been building in the city. A bad crop, widespread disease, and the rumor of demons at work within the city have all caused outbursts of violence against the general situation, and against the noble and merchant classes that much of the common folk blame for the situation.

You are a member of this underclass, though you have yet to participate in any of the demonstrations. One night, you and a few others are greeted by a small mote of light. It does not speak, but it flashes and bobs about, seemingly beckoning you away from your home and out into the city.

As best as you can tell, this strange being—unlike any you've seen before—wants your help. Do you answer the call? 

Kobold

Perhaps the most controversial thing not related to the mechanics of the game I've seen discussed on the topic of Pathfinder 2nd edition is the art direction of the Kobold. I will forever be a defender of these big-headed, skink-lookin' things. If you disagree? Please @ me on Twitter and I will tell you you're wrong *to your face*. Now that I'm done being needlessly aggressive, let's talk kobolds.

The kobold is the draconic counterpart to the goblin in a lot of fantasy media. Oftentimes you will find them close to one another in proximity or goals—they may even serve the same evil overlord (should they choose to serve someone other than themselves).

While I am personally opposed to the traditional stereotyping of a particular ancestry as wholly evil—evidently Paizo is too given both kobolds and Goblins are playable ancestries in Pathfinder Society—the kobolds present in the bestiary make great adversaries for a new upstart group of players.

Their favored tactics include, but are not limited to, the following: sneaking, swarming, trapping, and of course, running away.

The dragon mage, scout, and warrior all have Sneak Attack which allows for a surprising amount of additional damage at low levels. They are particularly dangerous in packs when they greatly outweigh a foe in the action economy of a particular fight.

As the kobolds are starting creatures, they are designed to be extremely versatile and can be used in most fantasy settings. Deploy them as vicious and tricky adversaries or as misunderstood scamps that cause a bit of mischief here and there.

It helps that they're cute—wherever you use them, they can be a great learning experience for new players that not all the "bad guys" look the part.

- Reece // @Cobalt_Crusader -- come at me -- 

Hook 1 (Max) - Locker, Kobold Thief Extraordinaire 

Do you need a master thief? Someone that can bypass any trap? Someone who can find their way into every possible place? Well, look no further, Locker has got you covered!

Truly an artist in his field, he knows everything there is to know about locks, traps, safes, and anything in between, putting to good use the knowledge of his people in this regard. He elevates the natural predilection towards trapmaking—a hallmark of all kobolds—to a whole new level. There are many stories of Locker's exploits, at least some of which are bound to be true.

It is not easy to find him, harder yet to get him on a job. But once he commits to a task, there is no stopping him. Despite the difficulties in hiring him, he can never resist a good challenge, for Locker believes that no lock or contraption can best him.

And, to be completely honest? There might be some truth to it.

Hook 2 (Nemanja) - Beyond The Trench

In the ages past, when battles were fought with glorious charges on open battlefields, kobolds were rarely seen as an important player in global geopolitics.

But the Great War came, and with it, trench warfare became the norm. In the past fifteen years of slaughter, the Kobold nation of Wingsreach has risen to become a major force. In the age of shifting borders and contested territories, their frontier, littered with endless trenches and countless traps, has never moved a single inch. No one even seems to know what their endgame is, either.

Despite all this, when Captain Khazad is sent to retrieve a prisoner of war taken behind their lines, he does not back down.

Hook 3 (TJ) - From Many Rise One

The traps of a small group of kobolds are little to be worried about for those that are prepared. Without a guiding force, kobolds remain unorganized and disordered so that their efforts often fall flat. Given sufficient time to pursue their own goals, however, some kobold magickers develop a disturbing power.

Known as a warrenmind, the head kobold magicker subsumes all of the minds of the kobolds within its warren. Stripped of individuality but suffused with the creativity of many, the warrenmind expresses as one of the most terrifying entities in the civilized world: a group of kobolds unified in thought and in purpose.

These warrenminds are nearly impossible to flush out, as stepping foot into the twisting dens concocted by this hivemind nearly guarantees death. Trying to force the warrenmind out into the open is likewise impossible, as their natural draconic resistances provide defense against most methods of attrition.

The biggest concern of those that find a warrenmind is to keep it isolated. If a warrenmind were to meet up with another warrenmind, only one of two outcomes is certain. Either both warrenminds are destroyed in the ensuing battle, or one easily subsumes the other and the warrenmind grows. If a singular warrenmind were to subsume all of the known warrenminds, that would certainly spell destruction for anyone that stood against them.

Goblin (Commando, Pyro, War chanter & Warrior)

At this point, Goblins are essentially the tell-tale sign you're playing in Golarion. Paizo's rebranding of the creatures from "ork, but small" into the lovable sociopaths we've grown to love and appreciate was a historic move. It's no surprise that with the advent of Pathfinder 2nd Edition, they now come as a playable ancestry as well.

The bestiary gives us four variants to play with: the commando, pyro, war chanter and warrior. Each of the four showcase the goblins signature mix of bravado and oddly-misplaced self preservation instincts, mixed with their peculiar relationship with violence.

In combat, goblins are the master of swarming and hit and run tactics; with a plethora of distraction and mobility focused abilities, they make for extremely dynamic low-level combat. This makes them, among other things, a great way to teach new players about positioning, reactions, and creative use of scenery and terrain.

Hook 1 (Max) - The Gourmet Garbage Gang

The old sergeant looks tired and a touch bored, as if he's had this conversation a hundred times before.

"It's more of a nuisance than a real problem, honestly. Or rather, it was 'til the little buggers kidnapped someone's kid. The thing is, they apparently find people's garbage a premier delicacy and wreak a whole lotta havoc stealing it. Tried sending some of my boys after them, but lemme tell you, they ain't made for diving in trash. I reckon you lot might fare a little better. Still, I advise you get something to cover the smell, lest you have guts o' steel."

Hook 2 (TJ) - The Smokebelchers

The goblins of Uthen have made a name for themselves. Whether the name is positive or negative depends on who you ask, but it's a name nonetheless. Given the opportunity, the goblins have proven very skilled with machinery. While the dwarven clockwork and the gnomish magitech have both elegance and usefulness, the goblin smokebelchers have thrown out elegance in exchange for efficiency and speed.

Because of the rapid industrialization of the Midquarter of Dren, there have been fantastic leaps and bounds in availability of transportation, quality of life, and accessibility to gadgets and gizmos. The air quality and the blackened streaks along taller buildings as the smokebelchers live up to their name, however, has drawn the ire of those in the Lowquarter. Tharrum Platefury is looking for solutions, especially considering the reports of monsters in the smoke, stalking the streets in the darkness.

Hook 3 (Nemanja) - Plot of The Hidden King

Among sappers, there's a saying "Never trust a goblin, but always believe him". This is just a summary of how the little greenskins are seen amongst the Eveventh Kingdom's best engineers; pioneers of their craft that are too fickle and unreliable to work unsupervised, as for every genius idea one of them gets, another one gets blown up.

Indeed, at least seven wars and five covert campaigns have been fought between the Kingdoms of Mankind over the goblins' service. The goblins, for their part, don't seem to mind, working for whoever picks them up as long as they are given food to pickle and gunpowder to experiment with.

They didn't seem to mind, at least until a figure calling himself the Hidden King (in truth, a very cunning and powerful Barghest) comes forth with a list of demands. He claims there are hidden mines beneath every palace in the land, all ready to blow up as soon as he utters a magic word...

Gimmerling

 The Gimmerling is a creature that sees use in many different ways. As with other creatures that have shape-changing capabilities, you may be drawn to use a gimmerling (or more than one) as a "gotcha" while your players are on some higher level adventure through the fey world. Unlike many other fey creatures, a gimmerling is threatening enough to serve as a final boss of sorts for lower level parties. Its battlefield control through Treacherous Aura and Trip Up can wreak havoc on melee characters.

Even against as a (-2) or more creature, the gimmerling can be employed with traps, snares and the like in order to take full advantage of Trickster's Step. and remain relevant after level 15. Their powerful handcrossbow attacks and jaw poison are great ways to harry a group down while always staying just far enough out of reach to remain a nuisance.

Although they are evil, they may serve as an equally interesting narrative counterpart as well. High Crafting, Deception, Stealth, and Thievery skills can make a gimmerling a crafty and devious foe. Should you find something sufficiently worth their interest, though, you could find yourself with a powerful (and more-than-likely dangerous) magical item or ally.

Hook 1 (Max) - Merchant's Trappings

Great treasure lays in the ruins of the nearby castle. Allegedly. A lot of people went after it and never came back, so there's probably at least their possessions to be taken. Most likely.

The merchant who talks of the riches sits in the local tavern, a hearty man of middling age, who wouldn't hurt a fly.

It seems.

He is, in fact, the reason why no one comes back from the ruins. Not that he dirties his hands, not directly. He just... Appears, typically as a scantily clad woman, baiting intrepid adventurers into a labyrinth of carefully lain traps that only he can navigate. There's a lot of traps there. A ridiculous amount, quite honestly. Most of them don't make any logical sense. Like, why would you fill a room with water every time someone steps into it? Or make a twelve lever puzzle that sends you into a spike pit after you solve it? Or a chasm that you can walk over, but only if you do it backwards while dancing, and the only reward on the other end is an invisible skeleton?

It could be that he just enjoys making traps. It is a strong possibility. Probably.

Hook 2 (Nemanja) - The Coward's Way

The Snickerjaws, a local tribe of Kobolds, have grown from a minor nuisance to one of the most prolific factions in the lawless Tricrown Hills area. The change wasn't a slow one either; it seemed to happen practically overnight.

The Snickerjaws were always regarded as good trappers. While they were once effective, their tactics became common knowledge among neighbouring people, at least until a recent dramatic increase in the quality and ingenuity of their traps. The reason for this is simple; The Snickerjaw chieftain entered a partnership with a gimmerling inventor. The gimmerling is a coward who enjoys the pain his complex and brutal traps cause, though he is afraid of going out into the warzone to set them up, as it is contested by at least five different factions, in addition to one very spiteful demigod. The kobolds, in turn, are well versed in setting traps right under their enemies' noses, so they are delighted to be given a new advantage in the unfolding conflict.

Hook 3 (Reece) - Devil's Conundrum

It is said that Fegerdal Fingermaster is one of the greatest magical smiths across any known plane. Even among his gimmerling kin, the blades he forges are imbued with powerful fey magicks. Though he is a master craftsman, he is equally prone to outbursts of anger which make him incredibly difficult to work with. Should one be able to enlist his services to forge a weapon, any small slight or misstep can result in Fegerdal deciding to forgo his end of the bargain, noting the contract for his service has been voided.

A dispute of this kind is what requires your express assistance. Shybrandila Shiver-Tongue, a contract devil of some importance, bartered on behalf of her lord for a new powerful blade. When the gimmerling smith took offense at some minor slight during the final transaction, Fegerdal stated their business was concluded and had his apprentices escort her from his realm.

Too embarrassed to tell her lord what has occurred, Shybrandila has asked for your help in retrieving the blade by any means necessary. Infiltrating the fey workshop could prove difficult, especially given Fegerdal's penchant for devious and murderous contraptions.

Elemental, Water

 The water elementals in the bestiary include living waterfalls, quatoids, tidal masters, brine sharks, and elemental tsunamis. Most of them are either penalized for not standing in water, or have abilities that benefit from being in open water. While you *can* stick one of them in a pool and have your players surprised and scared, encountering these in the open sea (or, you know, on their home plane of water, that is... all water?) makes for so much more drama.

The Untari jungle is known for its many streams and waterfalls, but any attempt to map their locations is futile, as they appear to be changing places. Indeed, the jungle is a place of thinning, where the material plane meets the plane of water, and the many living waterfalls who keep crossing over find it very fun to move the streams and rivers around. However, they are very shy and secretive about it, and if mortal eyes see them in action, they might grow violent.

The Angulii pass, a stretch of sea between Northlandia and the polar ice caps, is known for its treacherous waters. Many terrible aquatic beasts lurk here, but among the most feared are entire schools of brine sharks. These elementals are said to jump dozens of feet up into the air, dragging sailors with them and plunging them into the cold depths of the ocean. Some of the more experienced sailors claim that offering them fresh water might keep them off - while others dismiss it as dangerous and wasteful superstition.

The Blue Brothers were the twin tidal master guardians of Akhtana Archipelago. One day, a group of small, octopus looking elementals appeared and whispered something into the brothers' ears. The brothers immediately nodded and then left into the deep, never to be seen again.
As the Calamity, an elemental tsunami that visits once every fifteen years, approaches, the islanders must choose: will their strongest and most capable try to stand against the Tsunami themselves, or shall they go on a quest to try and find their lost guardians?

Elemental, Mephit

 Think of every hammy and cheesy sidekick to the villain from your favourite childhood cartoon. Now channel them all into a little imp with delusions of grandeur, and you got yourself a mephit. While all are true neutral, they are most often used by minions by other elementals and casters - and a good chunk of those your players will be encountering are certain to be evil. Bestiary 1 brings us four flavours - air, earth, fire, and water.

Ser Georgio D'Anunnzio the Third, Slayer of Beasts Large and small, is a brave air mephit knight. While he claims to be recruiting squires to help him slay a mighty cyclops, he has no real chance against the giant. Despite cooking for, cleaning after, and generally being subservient to his squires, he will still claim to be the leader of the band. If the cyclops is slain, he will also claim the kill - going so far as to challenge any false claims with a duel, although if the duel is accepted he is sure to flee.

Dirty Douglas is an earth mephit known in mage circles for being a highly effective assassin. The tiny murderer's method of operation is gliding through the earth to ambush the victim, tripping them to the ground, and then using a garrote to finish the job. Adventurers who slight the (easy to slight) Guild of Mages Supreme might end up having to deal with him.

The Song of Waves and Pyres is an annual event held in the neutral astral plane city of Foreverspyre. The ancient tradition dates back to when the planes of Water and Earth were in open conflict - but nowadays, a symbolic arena battle for prestige takes place instead. The only participants on both side are respective planes' mephits - and both groups are notoriously good at cheating. Fire mephits usually resort to hidden evocation scrolls and an occasional infernal pact, while water mephits' favourite tactic is to recruit other outsiders and even mortals, using magic to disguise them.

Elemental, Fire

 The fire elementals are so inspiring, that this writeup is already longer then their description in the book. Still, the actual stat blocks actually give us some fun stuff to work with - those stat blocks including the cinder rat, elemental inferno, living wildfire and salamander.

Space pirates of the Nebulon Reach use conjured cinder rats to efficiently sabotage enemy ships. Cinder rats are conjured right into the ventilation systems of space-faring vessels, and their fetid fumes, while not overly toxic, replace fresh air overtime. Some spaceships have taken to hiring teams of halflings, gnome and other small races - these teams are trained to squeeze into the vents and fight the extraplanar vermin.

Unlike other creatures of elemental fire, salamanders can't actually see through thick smoke. This can be very useful to planar travelers, who can sometimes bribe elemental wildfires or other sentient denizens of the plane of fire to help them hide their locations as they traverse the evil salamanders' domain.

Universitas Arcanum, the premier mage school, has a long list of forbidden summons for its conjuration class. While most creatures on the list made it there for their corruptive influence, the elemental inferno is on the list for a simpler reason - it's only purpose to exist is to burn and destroy. However, some younger, more radical mages are looking to challenge several rules of the institution, among them the inclusion of elemental infernos on the forbidden list - but for all their academic pedigree, the mages also feel they aren't good at debates, having spent their lives as reclusive hermits. They are now looking for a lawyer, or really anyone good with words, to take up their case with the high council

Elemental, Earth

This group of golem-lites includes the living landslide, sod hound, stone mauler, xorn, and elemental avalanche. They also need almost no introduction, as "behemoth made of earth and rubble" is just such a common trope across all media.

The Transrealm Shadowbank Corp is the largest chain of banks in the world(s), ran by a shadowy cabal of seven primal dragons. The dragons' rival has recruited several teams to strike at several of those banks, breaking their reputations as impenetrable. The easiest of those includes jumping through an unstable portal to a demiplane strongly aspected to earth - where gems are kept, and sod hounds alert their living landslide handlers when any single one of the precious stones is moved but a millimeter. 

A group of daring thieves have pulled off the impossible - managing to steal a precious diamond from one of the vaults of the Transrealm Shadowbank Corp. Unfortunately, just as they return to the material plane, closing the portal behind them, a hungry xorn appears, and with him some stone mauler thugs. The three-legged gem eater proposes a trade for the diamond, but his companions disposition clearly states that no is not an answer.

Birkenbock mountain is home to a grumpy old elemental avalanche. Unknowingly, when old ladies living on its slopes talk about keeping quiet not to cause an avalanche, they aren't talking about natural avalanches - instead, Ol' Slide is particularly fond of his peace and quiet. Those in the know will sometimes leave offerings in the form of scrolls of silence or similar magical trinkets, and just sometimes, they might unexpectedly stumble upon a gem, or a hidden cave filled with treasures, when traversing the mount.

Elemental, Air

 And so, our week of elementals begins, with the air elementals - including the elemental hurricane, invisible stalker, living whirlwind, the mighty storm lord, and the zephyr hawk.

Griefholme, the city of light and magic, is a place where magic is so commonplace that day-to-day life of most citizens relies on it. One of the many unconventional uses of conjuration is a bounded elemental hurricane that is let out into the streets at night - doing a job of hundreds of servants with brooms within mere minutes. While the creature is under strict orders never to initiate a fight unprovoked, it has taken to its duty very seriously, and will aggressively defend the hygiene of the city.

Whisper is an invisible stalker with a vendetta. Having been called to perform terrible deeds by a rogue necromancer one too many times, he plans to execute the mage. To that end, he has given the necromancer the location of some ancient treasure, hidden on a solitary, faraway mountaintop - but also failed to mention that said mountaintop is an elemental vortex point, notable for being the spawning grounds of large numbers of aggressive young living whirlwinds. However, Ol' Joe the Necromancer wouldn't risk his own life - instead sending naive young adventurers after the treasure, with promises of rewards sure to be broken.

Hush Featherstep is an ancient storm lord noble. In his youth, hush was an avid falconer in his home plane of air - and even in his old days, his trustiest companion, a zephyr hawk named Swyft, had been at his side. Unfortunately, these days Hush's sight has grown weak - and when Swyft goes missing while on a hunt on the material plane, Hush must turn to some mortals for help. All of the signs point towards the bird-like elemental flying straight into a massive storm brewing on the horizon.

Eel

 While the electric and giant moray eels share a basic form, and an ability to slowly move on land, these are otherwise quite different critters.

The annual dwarven Highland games include many, many feats of strength and endurance. One of them is a race through a knee-high muddy pond crawling with electric eels. While serious injuries are rare, folks falling face-down and rolling over each other in the mud are expected, and treated with jest.
The winner traditionally gets a thunder-infused weapon, as well as a hearty eel soup.

A sea hag who often bargains with pirates resides in a cave accessible only by diving beneath the waves. While the cavern is by no means hard to reach, especially during low tide, a moray eel decided to lair at it's very mouth. What should have been a simple dive now becomes a deadly encounter, especially for those who come unprepared and are ambushed by the dread creature.

Junkeep is the capital of a newly formed goblin kingdom. The stinky keep, built out of incredible amounts of scrap material, is also surrounded by a moat that also serves as a sewer. In that filth-ridden liquid resides the royal alchemist's greatest achievement - a huge moray eel that also has the electricity-producing glands of its smaller cousins. While it has an aversion to goblin meat, the creature has been known to crawl out of the water and attack the city's few guests on occasion.

Eagle

 Whew, another letter down! On to some simpler encounters, i bring you the eagle, along with the tolkienean giant eagle.

The Everfyre planes are the territory of The Great Eagles. While the majestic birds don't have anything resembling a state, and their ruling body is naught more but a council of elders, it's has been a long-standing custom to ask their permission before settling in their lands, or even more rarely, collecting resources there.
Greedy King Glabradox, unfortunately, stepped all over said tradition and set up several logging operations across the region. These days, any humanoids that trespass without a heavily armed escort are snatched taken to the eagles' home, the Lonely Mountain, for interrogation.

The great eagles of Crownspire train hunting birds for the elves who live in the woods below. However, the eagles are not above intrigue and subterfuge, and more than one falcon has stolen an amulet, hid a letter, or outright attacked their master. When an elven noble ends up dead, their eyes pecked out, an investigation is called for.

The great eagles of Uplands betrayed the ancient oath that they made, and disaster struck. Long ago, the first bird-king made an oath that no kin of his shall ever take part in land-walkers' wars. And yet, the Dark Lord's advance was a threat to the entire world, and so the Eagles flew to war. Their aid turned the tide, and the Dark Lord was defeated once and for all. The day after he fell, the first Eagle lost his mind. In the weeks since, every day the great birds have been going feral. The eagles' now ask the mammals to return the favour - namely, by seeking out Mother Cassowary, a living deity that resides in a land no Eagle is allowed to visit, and petitioning her to lift the curse.

Deep gnome

 In Golarion proper, deep gnomes serve as the only remotely (true neutral) approachable faction in the darklands. If you, however, do not play in Golarion, you might find a different niche for them, and with little to make them mechanically interesting (decent illusory disguise on scouts and warriors, and some more primal spells on the rockwardens), I'd say you should weave a story that makes them feel different.

Young gnomes have been disappearing from the city of Calora. An investigation of the metropolis's sewers - along with several encounters with enraged duergar - lead the gnomes' chosen champions deep underground, where a settlement of stone-skinned gnomes is built around a magitechnological contraption. The kidnapped gnomes are thrown into the machine's reservoirs, where long tubes pierce their flesh, and start drawing out all colour from their bodies. The machine then produces a nectar that is both invigorating and highly addictive for the deep gnomes. While the sages of the settlement are open to alternative fuels for the machine (which inevitably kills the captives), unless such an alternative is presented, they are not willing to stop the operation. Of course, violence is always an option, but the potion makes deep gnomes a serious force, not to be taken lightly...

Diddlyfrumph Cloisterdoinks was a moody old gnome who owned a tavern. The tavern was notorious for having a (heavily enforced) sign on its entrance that said "Entry forbidden to dogs and dwarves". When Diddlyfrumph dies of old age, his proteges find that he left behind a large quantity of face and hair paint, as well as a map that supposedly leads to a hidden treasure. There's only one problem - the map claims that the planet is hollow, and saying that out loud, or trying to prove it, is heresy in the eyes of the Smiling God and his powerful clergy...

After searching for it for years, a group of adventurers have finally found the fabled Bottomless Pit. Throwing his lamp inside is the only way to truly contain a djinn prince that the group have been dealing with since the humble beginnings of their epic travels. The only problem is, the only way to the pit is through a Svirfneblin temple-city. The gnomish men are willing to allow the adventurers to pass - but the dwarven princess in their escort must not set foot on the holy stone of the city. While the Svirfneblin swear on their forgotten gods' names that no harm will come to the princess, the demon who hides in her soul is sure to be let loose if but one deep gnome tries to draw blood from the girl. If its anger is unleashed, not only would the temple be razed to the ground, but the adventurers could end up with no way home...

Dandasuka

 As a stat block, a dandasuka makes for a great spy or scout. As a storytelling device, a dandasuka is a minor disaster waiting to blow. While you can use them as plain antagonists, i feel like the best dandasuka stories would be those where a dandasuka ends up in the PCs service, be it as a dandasuka's own nefarious plan, or due to the PCs foolish megalomania.

An old cleric, who is a retired adventurer, tutors the king's only son. After a summer at his uncle's palace, the child is completely changed - prone to violent and chaotic outbursts, easy to go in a rage and highly unpredictable. Gathering his old crew for one last mission, the cleric discovers the boy has been replaced with a dandasuka - and his uncle with a Raja. Further investigation shows a deeply entrenched rakshasa conspiracy to replace the entire royal court.
While cleansing it must be done, the old adventurers realize any of their potential allies can secretly be nefarious shapeshifters. 

For his services to the Dark Lord, an aspiring Asmodean Hellknight is granted a highly unusual familiar - a dandasuka. While most knights get obedient imps, drawn directly from one of the nine hells, the young knight has shown a spark of greatness - and his higher-ups reward it by testing him to his limits. The overeager, bloodthirsty fiend is meant to be a lesson in control and restraint, and if the inexperienced knight can fully exert his will over its, he is sure to be inducted into the inner circle of the church. Of course, if he fails, that is one more soul to fuel the forge of hells...

Sir Altos, a champion of The Lord of Second Chances, has found a way to separate fiends from their evil natures and grant them free will. To that end, he has reluctantly agreed to let a free-willed dandasuka join him and his comrades on their travels through the Sleeping Valley. While the dandasuka has managed to put up an appearance of meekness and redemption in front of the champion, when they lay asleep, it has been whispering tales of lost knowledge and hidden powers to the wizard, already the least committed of the group

Cockatrice

 The still valid, but somewhat underwhelming way to utilize a cockatrice, is as the poor man's basilisk, when the PCs are low level. The way to make a creature with a single special ability that stacks with itself memorable, though, is to wait for the PCs to level up, then throw heaps and heaps of these annoying creatures at them. Do note: Some of the entries below will substitute the bestiary's origin of the cockatrice for european folk tales about it.

A seer was fired from the King's court for treachery. What the man did was suggest that a rooster laying eggs in the king's royal garden is a bad omen, and that said eggs should be destroyed or at least removed. Unfortunately, the king found the occurrence to be very interesting, and has invited guests from several neighbouring lands to marvel at the eggs.
The seer, still loyal to the foolish monarch, recruits some of the visiting dignitaries entourage to destroy the eggs - unfortunately, as they arrive at the gardens in the dead of nights, several eggs appear to have already hatched, and statues apparently depicting terrified work staff and at least one pair of lovers are scattered among the rare plants.

A goblin alchemist working in the sewers of Kepesh has made a radical discovery. By submerging cockatrice eggs in specifically curated refuse from great beasts from the surrounding plains, he has managed to breed several mutated variations of the base cockatrice, ranging from those with breath weapons, to large, amphibious breeds with alligator-like jaws who draw their slowed prey into the muck to drown them. Unfortunately, as accomplished as the goblin is at breeding the beasts, he hasn't yet found efficient ways to control them - so now the already perilous undercity has grown ever more dangerous.

The harshest of the many forms of duels in the nation-state of Ciri'Tarya is the so called slowpoke duel. It is an often deadly endeavour, where participants are given a rapier, no armour, and a dose of high-proof cockatrice venom each. It is only used for the gravest of offenses, as a single good hit can often end the entire affair.
Unfortunately, the party's bard flirted with the wrong noble's fiancee, and a challenge has been issued. By law of the land, such a challenge can not be refused - but the bard's blades are as dull as his words are sharp.

Choral

Chorals, or choir angels, are the archetypical harp-wielding cherubs sitting atop a cloud. While their ferocity in battle increases with their numbers, granting them access to higher-level spells, actually ending up fighting six angels probably means your campaign went sideways at some point.

The Quantum Quintuplets are a wildly successful choir who have achieved worldwide renown. Except for their conductor, Master Mazzio, the members of the choir all perform under masks, and their identities are a closely guarded secret - leading to wild speculations about them, from those claiming that they sold their souls to Mephistopheles in exchange for perfect talent, to those that say they are instead all children of one of the Primordial Beings Of The First World. The truth, instead, is that they are all chorals, bound to service in a dark ritual by Master Mazzio, an infernalist who has no real agenda - instead, only enjoying in the irony of using the purest beings in existence for purely selfish means.
What Mazzio doesn't know, is that the angels are secretly looking for help - reaching out to a bard known to fraternize with a group of adventurers widely known for their distaste for slavery.

Silenius is a weird case among choir angels - while most angels sing serious and ceremonial tunes, they still impart a dose of optimism into them. Unlike them, this gloomy choral sings somber melodies, almost dirges. An overly zealous Solar has accused him of treachery, mistaking such breaking of tradition for treachery. While solars wisdom is almost infinite, it is not infallible - and the poor little depressed lad is looking for someone to petition the heavens in his name.

Boldegard is a choral angel who is never content with his songs. He often roams to the mortal realms, seeking out musicians and performers, trying to find new, different approaches to music. Those who manage to impress him are given one feather from his wing - and rubbing it will summon him to remove a curse, disease, or fear from the petitioner.


Sorry for the late entry today, my home game took a fair bit longer than i expected. No regrets, really.

Caligni

The caligni, previously known as dark folk (with the term now being considered racist in the setting, possibly reflecting real life) come to us in three variants - the dancer, a low-threat support, the creeper, a fairly standard rogueish type, and the stalker, whose encircling command ability is easily one of my favourites in the entire bestiary.

Deep beneath the city of Tanatolia, an ancient populace of sterile caligni has lived for centuries. Previously, they've never caused too much issues for the surface dwellers - an occasional prank or mugging getting overshadowed by the city's own criminal underground. Recently, though, the caligni have become the city's premier problem - breaking into homes and stealing babies from their cribs. An investigation leads to the disturbing discovery that they've made a pact with a dark entity, giving them the ability to create new members of their races by submerging human babies into the lifeless waters of an underground river...

Grothluk Paleblood is the leader of a mercenary war band, infamous in the darklands. In combat, the old warlord is known for yelling commands across the battlefield, positioning his troops perfectly across the battlefield, using terrain to its fullest advantage. In the rare cases when encountered outside of a war, he isn't above resorting to regular banditry either...

A mysterious entity has possessed the caligni shaman on the outskirts of the dwarven undercity of Globlum. This resulted in many young caligni growing up into previously unseen forms and roles, the most common being the seemingly mindless exploders, who sneak into settlements and set entire districts ablaze, and firespitters, who do not combust on death, but can spit out a substance that lights ablaze on contact with flesh.
While slaying the shaman to save the city is always an option, the dwarven king would prefer an exorcism to be performed, to restore friendly relations with the dark folk.

Beetle

Under beetle in the bestiary, we get two critters - the firefly-like flash beetle and the giant (actually only large) stag beetle.

In the old land, part of the celebration of the beginning of a new year was filling a big, colourful tent with flash beetles and food for them. The beetles would go on a ravenous feast, flashing and chirping excitedly, painting the night with their lights.
On the first celebration since they migrated across the sea, though, the gnomes learn how different this new land is - the flash beetles' lights attracts a swarm of beetles the size of horses, who initially feast on their smaller cousins, but noticing the myriad treats laid out for the festivity, they rampage across the settlement.

In The Olde Boglands, the wandering lights can be deceptive. While the swampy region is practically teeming with flash beetles, it also has a significant population of will'o'wisps. Unfortunately, as the beetles are harvested as a source of illumination for the nearby coal mine, encounters with the malevolent will'o'wisps are common.

In the Sequoia Woods, Giant Stag Beetles occasionally cause issues by bringing down the giant trees. While its usually not catastrophic, requiring the already nomadic people of the woods to relocate, they are about to cause the greatest calamity so far. Namely, they have started gnawing at the roots of the Hearttree, the largest tree (and probably largest living organism) in the world, which is surrounded by a massive wooden temple dedicated to the nature spirits. With no other options left, the indigenous people of the woods ask the colonizers for help, and the latter send out a team of architects to find a way to support the tree, along with a squadron of exterminators for the bugs.