Module Settings
There are a lot of different, categorised module settings available to the Bestiary to customize the useage of it.
Vague Descriptions refers to displaying creature characteristics for players through descriptive words instead of exact numbers.
The Pathfinder 2E labelings are used for this as standard, on the scale of Extreme|High|Moderate|Low|Terrible. The labels are calculated based on the Pathfinder 2E custom monster tables of values. (https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=2874&Redirected=1)
This section in the menu lets you choose which creature properties, if any, you wish to have set as vague.
By default vague properties are shown based on the creature's own level, meaning how good it is at things compared to other creatures at its level. Enabling this setting makes the labels based on the character level of the player viewing them instead.
Example
A standard pathfinder troll would normally base some vague descriptions on the expected pathfinder level statistics, and show: AC: Moderate, HP: High
With the settings activated, it would depend on the player level instead.
Player Level 3
AC: High HP: High
Player Level 7
AC: Low, HP: Moderate
Player Level 9
AC: Low, HP: Low
When you want to change a creature's AC, HP or other distinct values to misinformation you are usually prompted to write the text you want to be shown. With this setting enabled you are instead presented with a dropdown of the vague values (Extreme|High|Moderate|Low|Terrible).
Normally the GM will see values as vague in the same way the players do. Activating this option makes the GM instead see the exact values.
The labels used for vague descriptions can be customized here. There are full labels that are used in places where there is sufficient space, and shorter labels that are used in places where there isn't enough space for the full ones.
Here you can customize what things are present in the Bestiary and how they are presented.
If you only wish to make use of the Bestiary for certain types of Actors, then you can disable the types you don't want it used for.
Here you can add additional bookmarks to the Bestiary. You can select any Creature Traits known by the PF2E system to be treated as Creature Types by the Bestiary. You can add more Creature Traits to this selection by using the PF2E Settings for homebrew.
These are additional sections that can be added to the Creature View with values that can be revealed and hidden to players.
Here you can select types of information that you want more granual control over as a GM. For example, without Attack Traits selected, players will always see all traits an attack has when it's revealed to them. If you instead have it selected, they will be hidden with the ability to be revealed individually by you.
There is a space in the welcome page of the Bestiary where a GM can drag in a journal. The idea is that this can allow them to present players with their own version of Recall Knowledge rules or anything else that they consider relevant to using the Bestiary. The label and image of how this is displayed can be customized here, or it can be disabled.
You can enable adding a shortcut button in the header of Actor sheets that will take you to the Bestiary entry for the actor in question. If it doesn't have a bestiary entry, it will prompt for if you want it added.
Enabling this will prevent players from being able to click on revealed Abilities and Passives to read their descriptions.
Here you can customize what things are presented to players and GM in the Bestiary view, aswell as how they are interacted with.
The avatar, that is the image, of a creature shown in the Bestiary can have different filters applied to it to achieve various effects. Here you can select filters that you wish to have applied by default to the various types of entities in the Bestiary when they are first added.
Additionally you can select the default image shown when the hidden filters is used for each type of entity.
These settings can be changed individually on any entity in the Bestiary from the Avatar Menu.
The Bestiary main page lets you change between viewing the different types of entities within it. Here you can change the labels and pictures for those categories from their defaults of Creatures/NPC Gallery/Hazards.
By default, creature properties are shown with dashed borders around them in the GM view when they are hidden to players - and full, solid borders when they are revealed. Enabling this setting will use the cosen colours for fields that are Revealed and Hidden respectively to make it more strongly denoited.
The images shown in the Bestiary will use the creatures token art instead of the actor art.
Here you can customize the ways Foundry and the PF2E will automatically interact with the Bestiary.
Here you select which method to use to distinguish which NPC Actors the bestiary should consider as NPCs. By default this is NPCs with Unique rarity, but it can also be set to check for the NPC trait that the module has added.
You can select either Start Of Combat or On Creature Defeated. If you do, then creatures will automatically be added to the Bestiary on that condition in a combat encounter.
This setting lets players double left-click a creature to go directly to it's page in the Bestiary. GMs can do the same by holding the ALT key and double-clicking.
As a requirement for this to work, all creatures in the Bestiary will have their ownership level set to Limited unless it's already higher. Usually all this does is allow players to read a creature's Description, but now it adds a lot more 😄
Here you can select different properties of creatures that you want to be automatically revealed in the Bestiary to players when they are used.
Default Hidden From Players
Here you can select things in the Bestiary to have hidden from players by default when they are added. This can be usefull since you may wish to do some setup on NPC characters, or don't wish players to see newly created NPC Categories right away.
Here you can select certain propeties for the different types of bestiary entities that you wish to revealed for players right away when they are added to the Bestiary. Perhaps you want the name known right away aswell as their traits and level.
Enabling this setting will make NPC creature tokens have their token names (that are shown in the Combat Tracker) changed based on their status in the Bestiary.
- If they have not been added to the Bestiary, the name will be 'Unknown'.
- If they are in the Bestiary but their named has not been revevealed, they will be 'Unknown'. (This has integration for PF2E Workbench if you want to use their NPC Mystification feature)
- If they are in the Bestiary with their name revealed, their actual name will be shown.
- If they are in the Bestiary and the GM has set Misinformation on their name, then that misinformation will be shown.
Here players and GMs can select their visual theme for the Bestiary.