To be fair im not into monster books much. Most i just run from my head even if I've been doing wrong for 40 years. I do use books more at higher lever to find challenges so patfinder and DnD5 and Sandy Paterson's Cthulhu Mythos for more powerful monsters. Sandys Mythos for 5th ed been by me bed several years and sometimes I prefer to Call of Cthulhu 7 versions (older eds slightly different). I still like Wikipedia on folkloric monster lore. I'm looking for the Dolemwood books. I still like the Stormbringer rpg take that hafl monsters should be unique and I like animal mashup lots. Still here are my takes on some monster books available. I kinda wish was a definative Mystara monster book - ive got several but not creature catalogue and none feel complete. My biggest beef with original adventures reincarnated series is gave stat blocks on monsters but sometimes zero lore and in the barrier peaks book added creatures for bonus adventures with no illustrations also.
Megadungeon Monster Manual 💗💗💗💥
So this is a companion for Greg Gillespie mega-dungeons and compiles monster sections from other works into one. 108 pages with an orange dress spine to fit in your AD&D 1.5 era books. Lots are familiar and the art is great. I always liked the fiend folio for art the most of TSR monster books and I think this is a good comparison. There are new and variant familiar creatures and it is pretty good. Suspect I probably shouldn't look at the writer's non-gaming opinions. Do you need this? Possibly helpful if you're doing the mega-dungeon campaign and certainly you could use it as your main monster book for a while. Some of these critters needed a consistent update. Pretty art and nostalgia rank high here.
Pathfinder Bestiary vol 1-6 💗💗💗💗
I picked up the smaller mini versions but recently got the larger versions as they are more readable. Im finding lots of digest format stuff with small fonts increasingly hard to read and increasingly likely to not buy stuff that is too hard to read. I even came to like the 90s TSR large print to fill space stuff. So these cover many monsters we consider classics and lots more. I tend to use dnd5 stuff for high level because mostly they are more dangerous and have lots of HP. The monsters here are tougher than 1st ed but not as gross as dnd5. They also seem to have more monsters spreading over various levels. They have filled out more demons and angels and Cthulhu mythos monsters. They have lots of extraplanar beings if you need them. A couple of problems that bug me a bit are Indian Mythology where some of these "creatures" may be living ethnic groups. People still worship Nagas too and most not as evil or troublesome as games suggest. Even Rakshasa have some issues. My other slight dilemma was the inclusion of UFO mythology-based takes on Ancient Iraqui mythology which is kind of racist despite its popularity and all based on awful crackpot Zacharia Sitchin. Unfortunately, recent growth in Idiocy means I'm finding it harder to enjoy UFO cult ideas in my games and comics. Even the whole Cthulu Mythos im struggling to like as much as I did even though I have over 100 RPG books on this. Despite this an interesting monster compilation and a worthy consideration for completeness and consistency.
Creature Feature Compendium 💗💗💗💥
This book I was attracted to the very thick digest format and layouts. I have mentioned it here before but have struggled to get into reading it. All are illustrated and mostly they seem interesting modern monster ideas. My biggest beef is some silly oversized anime weapons. To me lots of these seem better as planar creatures and possibly would suit dark sun with its over-the-top nasty spiky masculine setting (kinda like some Riddick film's looks and vibe would work in Dark Sun). I think I would be more likely to use as individual one offs than as species in the book. Ive had a bash at reading and despite the good info and detail Im not loving it or finding it usable. Possibly I like mythical monsters the most. I don't know If Id like a second volume but id take a look. Some of damages of creatures exceed their HP in a round and lots have magic weapons you can score but I don't think id want in a game. I admire it is well done book that looks good but im not finding useful or in love with it.
The Monster Overhaul 💗💗💗💗
This is the newest star on the Block and it is very good. I like some of the simplifications and new mechanics on offer. Some of the creatures lean more into mythology some a bit away. The eating monsters notes was fun but a few I would have considered deadly poison straight up. At least you can play a gourmet monster eater better now and the risks are the kind of OSR ones like using buttons, drinking coloured pools and pulling mystery leavers. It has a good range of creatures. There are some breaks with traditions like Bugbears a type of ogre rather than goblinoid which is a trope I like. In many ways, it is like what I would do If I did a monster book and I can understand trying to sort monsters by type, season. climate or other factors. The BECMI Creature catalogue tried this approach and I think it is quite tricky to do right and be usable at table. It was a good read and inspirational. Some taste differences to what Id do but a solid big book with lots of utility and inspiration. Lots of interesting mechanics and good integrated monster tables. It diverges from classic lore sometimes for the better. While close to many of my own ideas I probably wont use it as is. Its one of best books this year and not just monster statblocks like many monster books.
So this is a companion for Greg Gillespie mega-dungeons and compiles monster sections from other works into one. 108 pages with an orange dress spine to fit in your AD&D 1.5 era books. Lots are familiar and the art is great. I always liked the fiend folio for art the most of TSR monster books and I think this is a good comparison. There are new and variant familiar creatures and it is pretty good. Suspect I probably shouldn't look at the writer's non-gaming opinions. Do you need this? Possibly helpful if you're doing the mega-dungeon campaign and certainly you could use it as your main monster book for a while. Some of these critters needed a consistent update. Pretty art and nostalgia rank high here.
Pathfinder Bestiary vol 1-6 💗💗💗💗
I picked up the smaller mini versions but recently got the larger versions as they are more readable. Im finding lots of digest format stuff with small fonts increasingly hard to read and increasingly likely to not buy stuff that is too hard to read. I even came to like the 90s TSR large print to fill space stuff. So these cover many monsters we consider classics and lots more. I tend to use dnd5 stuff for high level because mostly they are more dangerous and have lots of HP. The monsters here are tougher than 1st ed but not as gross as dnd5. They also seem to have more monsters spreading over various levels. They have filled out more demons and angels and Cthulhu mythos monsters. They have lots of extraplanar beings if you need them. A couple of problems that bug me a bit are Indian Mythology where some of these "creatures" may be living ethnic groups. People still worship Nagas too and most not as evil or troublesome as games suggest. Even Rakshasa have some issues. My other slight dilemma was the inclusion of UFO mythology-based takes on Ancient Iraqui mythology which is kind of racist despite its popularity and all based on awful crackpot Zacharia Sitchin. Unfortunately, recent growth in Idiocy means I'm finding it harder to enjoy UFO cult ideas in my games and comics. Even the whole Cthulu Mythos im struggling to like as much as I did even though I have over 100 RPG books on this. Despite this an interesting monster compilation and a worthy consideration for completeness and consistency.
Creature Feature Compendium 💗💗💗💥
This book I was attracted to the very thick digest format and layouts. I have mentioned it here before but have struggled to get into reading it. All are illustrated and mostly they seem interesting modern monster ideas. My biggest beef is some silly oversized anime weapons. To me lots of these seem better as planar creatures and possibly would suit dark sun with its over-the-top nasty spiky masculine setting (kinda like some Riddick film's looks and vibe would work in Dark Sun). I think I would be more likely to use as individual one offs than as species in the book. Ive had a bash at reading and despite the good info and detail Im not loving it or finding it usable. Possibly I like mythical monsters the most. I don't know If Id like a second volume but id take a look. Some of damages of creatures exceed their HP in a round and lots have magic weapons you can score but I don't think id want in a game. I admire it is well done book that looks good but im not finding useful or in love with it.
The Monster Overhaul 💗💗💗💗
This is the newest star on the Block and it is very good. I like some of the simplifications and new mechanics on offer. Some of the creatures lean more into mythology some a bit away. The eating monsters notes was fun but a few I would have considered deadly poison straight up. At least you can play a gourmet monster eater better now and the risks are the kind of OSR ones like using buttons, drinking coloured pools and pulling mystery leavers. It has a good range of creatures. There are some breaks with traditions like Bugbears a type of ogre rather than goblinoid which is a trope I like. In many ways, it is like what I would do If I did a monster book and I can understand trying to sort monsters by type, season. climate or other factors. The BECMI Creature catalogue tried this approach and I think it is quite tricky to do right and be usable at table. It was a good read and inspirational. Some taste differences to what Id do but a solid big book with lots of utility and inspiration. Lots of interesting mechanics and good integrated monster tables. It diverges from classic lore sometimes for the better. While close to many of my own ideas I probably wont use it as is. Its one of best books this year and not just monster statblocks like many monster books.
"In many ways it is like what I would do If I did a monster book" is high praise indeed. Glad you enjoyed the Monster Overhaul, and I hope you can use it in some form, or use some parts of it.
ReplyDeleteits great inspirational stuff
Deleteprobably will find some use and not just stat blocks - probably one of best things this year
i added a sentance too the end
Delete