Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
[PR Commentary] Hacklopedia of Beasts II
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Cyragnome" data-source="post: 164348" data-attributes="member: 165"><p>Pursuant of the standard operating procedures here is the obligitory disclaimer...I received this book, the HackMaster: Hacklopedia of Beasts - Volume II (HoB 2), as a part of a promotion sponsored by the good folks at Kenzer, in exchange for my honest and public commentary on said book...and they sent a neat comic too <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>What can I say? I haven't played or picked up a HackMaster book to date. I've seen the mentions on the boards, I've read KoDT, from which HackMaster presumptively spawned, and quite honestly I've been a bit intrigued by the popularity and loyalty I've seen for the product. Imagine, in my opinion, the humor of Paranoia, the hack and slash driven dungeons of 1E, mix with ample portions of highschool kids art (not the quality, which is quite decent, just the sensibility - think severed heads, flaming people and various people in various states of being devoured, folded, spindled or mutilated). The HoB 2 details monsters for the HackMaster game, ranging from Cats (small) to Efreeti. Many of these monsters are 1E classics (even though, honestly I've never used the Catoblepas <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /> ), standard mythological fare and some interesting new creations (or at least the first time I've seen them). The writing is consistant and generally rather humorous. The centerpiece, of course, is the 32 odd pages of Dragons which are fairly well done, and entertaining, for example noting that "Brass Dragons are known far and wide for being boorish windbags..." who "...love to talk about such topics as tax law..."</p><p></p><p>Overall, if rating this book on a scale of 1 to 5, I'd be inclined to give a 3.5...The writing is clever, the artwork is humorous at times but a bit over-the-top in others, the monsters are either ones that have been done to death but deserve the special HackMaster treatment, or appear to be interesting creations that may be of use in campaigns outside of the HackMaster realm (Chaos Corpse).</p><p></p><p>The final comment worth noting, is "has this made *me* more interesting in HackMaster?" Well, I'm not sure, after recovering from my latest binge on gaming material, I'm sure to check out the main guides...but if it comes to Kalamar Player's Guide vs. HackMaster Player's Guide, I honestly think I'd get more from Kalamar...it has piqued my interest more in the HackMaster line, though...thanks Kenzer Guys</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Cyragnome, post: 164348, member: 165"] Pursuant of the standard operating procedures here is the obligitory disclaimer...I received this book, the HackMaster: Hacklopedia of Beasts - Volume II (HoB 2), as a part of a promotion sponsored by the good folks at Kenzer, in exchange for my honest and public commentary on said book...and they sent a neat comic too :) What can I say? I haven't played or picked up a HackMaster book to date. I've seen the mentions on the boards, I've read KoDT, from which HackMaster presumptively spawned, and quite honestly I've been a bit intrigued by the popularity and loyalty I've seen for the product. Imagine, in my opinion, the humor of Paranoia, the hack and slash driven dungeons of 1E, mix with ample portions of highschool kids art (not the quality, which is quite decent, just the sensibility - think severed heads, flaming people and various people in various states of being devoured, folded, spindled or mutilated). The HoB 2 details monsters for the HackMaster game, ranging from Cats (small) to Efreeti. Many of these monsters are 1E classics (even though, honestly I've never used the Catoblepas ;) ), standard mythological fare and some interesting new creations (or at least the first time I've seen them). The writing is consistant and generally rather humorous. The centerpiece, of course, is the 32 odd pages of Dragons which are fairly well done, and entertaining, for example noting that "Brass Dragons are known far and wide for being boorish windbags..." who "...love to talk about such topics as tax law..." Overall, if rating this book on a scale of 1 to 5, I'd be inclined to give a 3.5...The writing is clever, the artwork is humorous at times but a bit over-the-top in others, the monsters are either ones that have been done to death but deserve the special HackMaster treatment, or appear to be interesting creations that may be of use in campaigns outside of the HackMaster realm (Chaos Corpse). The final comment worth noting, is "has this made *me* more interesting in HackMaster?" Well, I'm not sure, after recovering from my latest binge on gaming material, I'm sure to check out the main guides...but if it comes to Kalamar Player's Guide vs. HackMaster Player's Guide, I honestly think I'd get more from Kalamar...it has piqued my interest more in the HackMaster line, though...thanks Kenzer Guys [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
[PR Commentary] Hacklopedia of Beasts II
Top