Battlezoo Bestiary Now Available on Pathbuilder 2e and The Wanderer’s Guide, Plus A New Book?!?
almost 3 years ago – Wed, Nov 24, 2021 at 11:15:00 PM

Big news for Pathfinder players who want to utilize the new Battlezoo Bestiary archetypes and other character options, you can now do so with two of the most popular free character-building tools out there. Both Pathbuilder 2e and The Wanderer's Guide have incorporated the Battlezoo Bestiary directly into their tools and can be used today!

We are also working hard with The Pathfinder 2 Easy Library to incorporate the various creatures directly into their site as well as most of the monster building options! Look for the site to be updated shortly!

The other big news this week is that... we are releasing yet another new book! The Jewel of the Indigo Isles Player's Guide!

As we were working on the Jewel of the Indigo Isles Adventure Path, we realized that there were so many player options being added to the adventure, that it wouldn't make sure to include those directly into the adventure itself. You know, the adventure with all those spoilers and such. So we decided to break the player content out into a separate book that you can now hand directly to your players if they want to take advantage of all the amazing new player content, created directly for the Indigo Isles.

If you ordered the Jewel of the Indigo Isles PDF or hardcover book you will receive this Player's Guide for FREE. There is nothing you need to do, you will automatically receive this book at the same time that the adventure is released!

Nothing will change in terms of the promised content outlined in the Kickstarter, it will simply be split into two books — one dedicated to the GM that outlines the adventure and what they need to know to run it (The Jewel of the Indigo Isles) and one outlining all the various player options (The Jewel of the Indigo Isles Player's Guide)

We are still determining exactly what will be in this book, but so far we are planning on including the following:

• Ancestry outline for the G'mayun (pirate parrot people)
• Ancestry outline for the Galtzagorri (flying mischievous fey)
• Ancestry outline for Wildfire Leshy (charred plants brought to life)
• Ancestry outline for the Orpok (hard-working pig people)
• Ancestry outline for the Chochori (people created from living coral)
• Ancestry outline for the Hardriggan (warrior ram people)
• Ancestry outline for the Kragrak (spiritual rock people)
• New archetypes
• An introduction to the Battlezoo World of Alacar
• An overview of the Gods of Alacar and its faith system — The Balance
• A detailed gazetteer for the Indigo Isles
• New player backgrounds
• Class tips
• History of the Isles
• And more!

Plus I have a little sneak peek of what the Hardriggan look like!

As for the rest of the products, here is this week's update:

Battlezoo Bestiary for 5th Editon — The final writing and conversion of this book is nearly complete. After everything has been converted we will need to proof everything and test it a bit to make sure our new systems work. We are also in the process of laying out the book as it will be fairly different than the Pathfinder version in many ways. I know it's taking a bit longer than I expected, but we are trying to add as many cool monster parts items as possible, with special attention on classes that don't usually get cool gear, such as monks and rangers. The extra time will be worth it as we want to make sure everyone has something to utilize from this book!

Battlezoo Bestiary VTTs — The Foundry VTT module testing is nearly complete. We have finished the first round and are starting the second round of testing which usually goes much faster. Meanwhile, the modules for Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds are also being worked on and we expect should be ready for release by January.

Battlezoo Ancestries: Dragons — We are nearly complete with the full rules on 20 dragons (lore, playing them, and artwork). We also have the rules for all the new archetypes complete as well as the hoard system (which is really cool). We will be testing those 20 dragons in the near future. Once those go through testing, the remaining 35 should be developed fairly quickly as they will be based upon the original work done on the initial set.

Whew, that was a lot of news, have a great holiday everyone!

Project Update and Monster Creation FAQ Live Q&A Tonight!
about 3 years ago – Thu, Nov 11, 2021 at 11:03:30 PM

At this point, everyone who ordered the Battlezoo Bestiary Pathfinder Second Edition PDF should have access to it in their BackerKit account. If you don't, that means that you need to complete the survey so that you can receive your copy. Once again, you can access the survey here:  https://battlezoo-bestiary.backerkit.com/ 

And for those of you out there who are enjoying the book and were thinking, "Wow, these monsters are so amazing! I wonder how I could get into next year's Battlezoo Bestiary book and get paid for my monster?" Well, wonder no more! The deadline for this year's RPG Superstar 2021 contest is fast approaching, where you can enter up to three monster designs, which will then be voted upon by the general public as well as professional RPG designers. If your monster is chosen you will receive a cash prize, recognition of your monster winning the contest, as well as inclusion in next year's Battlezoo Bestiary!

And for those of you interested in learning best practices on HOW to make a monster for any RPG system, make sure to tune into tonight, November 11, 2021, at 8 pm EST/5 pm PST to Nonat1s YouTube Channel for a live Q&A with myself, Mark Seifter, Linda Zayas-Palmer, and Nonat1s. There we will answer all your questions about creating monsters and help us build a monster LIVE on the air!

As for the rest of the products, here is this week's update:

Battlezoo Bestiary for 5th Editon — Nearly everything from the Pathfinder version of this book has been converted to 5e and is going through final review and testing. Again, we are doing our best to release the PDF before the end of the year, but it will be tight as we want to make sure the product is as of high quality as possible. But nearly all of the work has been completed and we are in the final stages of development.

Battlezoo Bestiary Digital Assets — These were just released today for everyone who has the Battlezoo Bestiary Second Edition PDF and was expecting these assets. The bundle includes full images of all monsters from the Bestiary, tokens for each monster as well as images from the Monster Parts system for inclusion in your games. You can download this pack from the same location where you downloaded the Battlezoo Bestiary Second Edition PDF. 

Do note that this isn't available to people who ordered the Battlezoo Bestiary for 5th Edition just yet, only for those who ordered and received the Pathfinder Second Edition PDF.

Battlezoo Bestiary VTTs — Each is being worked on by a different team and is through various stages of development and testing. The Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds modules are still being developed, while the Foundry module is complete for Pathfinder Second Edition, but it's undergoing testing and review currently. We hope to have the Foundry module released by the end of the month/early December as of now.

Battlezoo Ancestries: Dragons — Nearly all of the artwork for the book is complete, and Mark is feverously working on finishing the book. As of now, we are continuing to order more artwork and dragons for the book while Mark continues to write. So the longer Mark takes, the more artwork that will be included in the final book! :) But we don't expect this book to be in your hands until early 2022 at this rate as the book continues to get larger as we just keep coming up with more and more cool ideas! Please be patient as we promise it will be worth the wait!

Jewel of the Indigo Isles — We actually have massive news coming up on this project in the near future... but for now a general update. The first book in the adventure, Search for the Missing Map by Patrick Renie, is nearly complete. But the big news is that we have managed to hire Jared Blando to create all the maps for the adventure. Those of you from the 5e world should be VERY familiar with his work as he created the maps for:

• Descent into Avernus
• Hoard of the Dragon Queen
• Out of the Abyss
• Storm King's Thunder
• Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide
• The Rise of Tiamat
• Volos' Guide to Monsters
• Strongholds & Followers
• Acquisitions Incorporated
• Rime of the Frost Maiden
• Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft
• as well as many others.

I wish I could post some of the maps here to just show you how awesome they look, but that would be spoiling the adventure! :) So instead, I'll show you a map he created for Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft

Pre-Order/Order Store — For those of you who missed out on the original Kickstarter, you can still order all the books and add-ons at the pre-order store at http://www.battlezoo.com/. And if you order the Battlezoo Bestiary PDF for Pathfinder Second Edition, you will be sent the PDF immediately after you complete your order!

As always if you have any questions whatsoever, please ask them here, or head on over to our awesome Roll For Combat Discord Channel where you can ask questions, talk with others from the community, and even play games online. Check it out!

Updated Version of Battlezoo Bestiary Pathfinder PDF Now Available, Please Download This Version
about 3 years ago – Thu, Nov 04, 2021 at 08:14:04 PM

Updated Version of Battlezoo Bestiary Pathfinder PDF Now Available

An updated version of this title is now available. Everyone should update as there were significant changes:

• Astringent Armor had the wrong level in the stat block (prior version showed level 4, should be level 8). This was updated in both the monster description as well as the monster parts section (including updated monster parts pricing).
• Myzoform description, sidebar text, and alignment updated.
• Typeface changed to make it more legible.
• Background on all pages made slightly lighter for easier reading.

This should hopefully be the last major update of the PDF, but these aren't small changes and everyone should download the new version and use this PDF going forward. 

Thanks, everyone! And don't forget, if you want to have a chance of your monster appearing in the next Battlezoo Bestiary, make sure to check out the RPG Superstar 2021 Contest! Enter today!

Battlezoo Bestiary Pathfinder Second Edition PDF Is Out in the Wild!
about 3 years ago – Wed, Nov 03, 2021 at 12:13:29 AM

Woot! The Battlezoo Bestiary Pathfinder Second Edition PDF has just been sent out to backers! It was a long road, but we finally finished the book and can't wait for people to play with the award-winning monsters and the amazing Monster Parts system!

And for those of you who ordered the 5e version, don't worry as we are finalizing that book as well! We had a few major breakthroughs over the past few weeks and we are cranking away on finishing that book and getting it to everyone as quickly as possible!

We are also working on finalizing the print version of both books and will have a few surprises in store for those who ordered the physical copy of the book!

Thanks again to everyone who supported the Kickstarter and this book, and look forward to the many more books we have coming out in the next months!

Battlezoo Bestiary Pathfinder Second Edition PDF Ready to Send!
about 3 years ago – Tue, Nov 02, 2021 at 12:37:01 PM

For this week's update, we will focus primarily on the Battlezoo Bestiary for Pathfinder Second Edition as the PDF is just about ready to send! We are performing our very final proofing and then we will package up the PDF and make it available to everyone who ordered this book. 

However, a few very important notes are below, make sure you read these if you have ordered this book.

• Rather than release the PDF on a Friday before a holiday weekend, we plan to release the book next week, Tuesday, November 2nd. This will ensure if there are any issues we can address them quickly.
• If you have ordered the Battlezoo Bestiary for Pathfinder Second Edition PDF, you will only get access to this book if you have completed the BackerKit survey and have finalized your order. Once again, if you haven't done this yet, you can go here https://battlezoo-bestiary.backerkit.com/ to lock your order.
• Before we send out the PDF, we will need to lock your order and charge your credit cards ONLY TO THE PEOPLE WHO ARE RECEIVING THE BATTLEZOO BESTIARY PDF FOR PATHFINDER. If you are receiving the 5th Edition version of this book, you will NOT be charged next week. 
•  This will happen automatically next Tuesday, November 2, unless you specifically write us and tell us not to do so. If you only ordered electronic products (such as PDFs and VTTs) you most likely won't have any additional fees needed to be charged. However, if you ordered any physical books, then you will be charged for the shipping now in order to receive your PDF.
• Again, if you do not wish to be charged early next week and have your order locked, please contact us ASAP so that we can remove you from this list.
•  Again, if you are not receiving this PDF or ordered 5th edition materials, you will NOT be charged next week. 
• When the PDF is released next week, you will be able to download it directly from your BackerKit account.

If anyone has any questions about this please let me know. A few other small updates.

Battlezoo Bestiary for 5th Editon — Once the Pathfinder version is sent out, we will start to provide additional details on this edition, but development picked up pace significantly last week and we're currently moving along with the conversation at an accelerated pace. Stay tuned for more details next week!

Battlezoo Bestiary VTTs — With the release of the Battlezoo Bestiary Pathfinder Second Edition PDF we are also looking at finalizing the release of the VTT elements as well. The Foundry VTT is near completion and should undergo testing in the next few weeks. The creation of the Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds modules are further behind as each requires different functionality to work, but they are also in the process of being created. We should have additional information on their status next week.

Sneak Peek — Battlezoo Bestiary Endsheets!

We wanted to create something special for the print version of each book, something that you couldn't get from a digital PDF. The "endsheets" are the thicker, colored paper that connects the cover to the pages within the book itself. If you look inside any hardcover book you will notice them right away. Normally these endsheets are simply a single color, but in "the olden days" these endsheets would often have complex designs and something that caught your eye as soon as you opened the book.

You might have noticed that we have mixed both "old school" and "new school" RPG designs in our books. The layout on the pages themselves is very modern, but the page border is straight from 1st edition, with black and white line art and heavy crosshatching.

With this in mind, we wanted something special when you first opened the book, so we went back to our old-school roots and this is the image that will greet you when you first open the book!

We will also have a different, unique design for the Special Edition version of the book, stay tuned for a sneak peek at that design as well!