How stellar was the old Fiend Folio!
Wow! This thread is going to become my new definition of the term "nostalgia." I find it incredible that people can view the old Fiend Folio as anything other than terrible.
Yes, it is true that the book gave us the Githyanki and Githzerai. However, the Drow, Kuo Toa, Jermelaine, Nycadaemon, Mezzodaemon and most of the decent monsters were just reprints of monsters TSR had published elsewhere. In fact, the Fiend Folio was considered to be so terrible in its time that even the Dragon Magazine couldn't bear to give it a decent review, despite the fact the the magazine's policy was to automatically give rave reviews to everythin its parent company did.
Dragon reviewers knew that their credibility would be shot if they stated that the FF was a decent book. The decent monsters in the book comprise significantly less than 10% while the rest of the manual is filled with: the Denzelian, the Sheet Ghoul, the Sheet Phantom, the Protein Polymorph, the Carbuncle, the Flumph, the Snyad, the etc.
For me, the emblematic creature for the FF was the Denzelian: Move: 0', Attacks: 0, Special Attacks: none. What does it do? Does it talk? No. It just sits there and eats rock. Hurray!
Yes, it is true that the book gave us the Githyanki and Githzerai. However, the Drow, Kuo Toa, Jermelaine, Nycadaemon, Mezzodaemon and most of the decent monsters were just reprints of monsters TSR had published elsewhere. In fact, the Fiend Folio was considered to be so terrible in its time that even the Dragon Magazine couldn't bear to give it a decent review, despite the fact the the magazine's policy was to automatically give rave reviews to everythin its parent company did.
Dragon reviewers knew that their credibility would be shot if they stated that the FF was a decent book. The decent monsters in the book comprise significantly less than 10% while the rest of the manual is filled with: the Denzelian, the Sheet Ghoul, the Sheet Phantom, the Protein Polymorph, the Carbuncle, the Flumph, the Snyad, the etc.
For me, the emblematic creature for the FF was the Denzelian: Move: 0', Attacks: 0, Special Attacks: none. What does it do? Does it talk? No. It just sits there and eats rock. Hurray!
ColonelHardisson
What? Me Worry?
Grazzt said:
Sorry Colonel. I was thinking of the Quaggoth. Brainfart for a second.
Just checked the Creature Locator on my site and according to what I have listed, the Qullan is in Living Greyhawk Journal #4.
Crap! That's the issue I don't have. Ah well, I can simply create my own...
Grazzt
Demon Lord
ColonelHardisson said:
Or you could use this one that I did about 2 years ago and is still in the Creature Catalog:
http://www.enworld.org/cc/converted/crypt/qullan.htm
Looking back at the original, and my conversion, I would likely have them use greatswords (or bastard swords maybe) instead of longswords. It does state in the original text that they wielded their broadswords with two hands.
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Silverblade The Ench
First Post
necroing...
Fiend Folio was AWESOME!!
so many outstaning creatures and the artwork rocked (the lizard king pic vs the two hander sword armed man is outstanding, same with the drow pic)
critters don't have ot be super dooper, carry lots of loot or whatever, as sometimes, they are just the background fodder folk don't thino of (like rothe') that cna still whup low lvl parties or are interesting,
Fiend Folio and the DMG were the best 1st ed books I think
Fiend Folio was AWESOME!!
so many outstaning creatures and the artwork rocked (the lizard king pic vs the two hander sword armed man is outstanding, same with the drow pic)
critters don't have ot be super dooper, carry lots of loot or whatever, as sometimes, they are just the background fodder folk don't thino of (like rothe') that cna still whup low lvl parties or are interesting,
Fiend Folio and the DMG were the best 1st ed books I think
the Jester
Legend
Right. Descent and Vault.....
Actually, the Drow made their first appearance in G3...
the Jester
Legend
I used to like you.
D00d, seriously, the good stuff in the FF includes the algoid, the al-mi'raj, the stunjelly, the slaadi, the githyanki and githzerai, the phantom stalker, nilbog, sussurus, flail snail, screaming devilkin, Styx devil, flumph, meazel, dire corbies, volt, vortex, acherai, witherstench, skulk, adherer, aaracockra, rothe, forlarren, envelopers, aleax... the list goes on and on.
I have to differ with you on the sheet phantom and ghoul, too- yeah, they're weird, but they're COOL weird.
On the other hand, the denzelian is a loser, and so are the protein polymorph and snyad. There were other offenders, too- ironically, even some of the WORST made it into 3e (denzelian is clearly the origin of the delver; what a stupid monster to update!).
But really, the FF was my favorite 1e monster book.
