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Review Triple-Play: Monsters of Sin: Avarice, Envy, and Lust by Open Design
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<blockquote data-quote="Neuroglyph" data-source="post: 7648942" data-attributes="member: 85633"><p><span style="font-size: 12px">In the 14th century, a poet named Dante penned these words, which have shaped the perception of Hell for generations of Christians, past and present:</span><p style="margin-left: 20px"><span style="font-size: 12px">Through me you enter into the city of woes </span></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"><span style="font-size: 12px">Through me you enter into eternal pain, </span></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"><span style="font-size: 12px">Through me you enter the population of loss. </span></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"><span style="font-size: 12px">Abandon all hope, you who enter here.</span></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p><p><span style="font-size: 12px">Dante Alighieri distilled the concepts of theologians into the seven deadly sins, and formed each into a specific location in the Inferno where transgressors were punished in a manner befitting their crimes. All of this created an image of Hell which influences art and literature to this day – and including (not surprisingly) a certain well-known fantasy role-playing game series!</span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px">From a D&D players’ point of view, the allegory of Dante’s <em>Inferno</em> is all too often made into a very real locality. Over the years since AD&D, Hell has been a strange realm which can be visited by heroes, and its inhabitants are the toughest foes an adventurer can face. From as far back as the old <strong><em>Dragon Magazine</em></strong> series on the <em>Nine Hells</em>, D&D players have made Hell part of the multiverse of adventure, basing much of the lore and locales on the imagination of Dante Alligheri. And for every edition of D&D and Pathfinder, demons and devils, the Abyss and the Hells, all are real threat to the mundane world which must be opposed by stalwart heroes wielding swords and sorcery and divine magic.</span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px">[align=right]http://www.neuroglyphgames.com/rpgblogs/home/neurogly/public_html/rpgblogs/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/MOS-covers.jpg[/align]For Pathfinder players, <strong>Open Design</strong> has recently completed a whole series of “mini-monster manuals” featuring malign entities which serve as avatars of one of the seven deadly sins. Now Pathfinder Gamemasters can bring monsters powered by Avarice, Envy, and Lust to challenge heroes for their lives – and even their souls!</span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px"><strong><u>Monsters of Sin (Avarice, Envy, & Lust)</u></strong></span></p><p> </p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 12px"><strong>Design</strong>: Ryan Costello, Jr.</span></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 12px"><strong>Illustrators</strong>: Cory Trego-Erdner (covers), Aaron J Riley (interiors)</span></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 12px"><strong>Publisher</strong>: Open Design</span></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 12px"><strong>Year</strong>: 2012</span></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 12px"><strong>Media</strong>: PDF (10 pages)</span></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 12px"><strong>Retail Price</strong>: $2.99 from <strong>RPGNow.com</strong> – <a href="http://www.rpgnow.com/product/103354/Monsters-of-Sin-1%3A-Avarice-%28Pathfinder-RPG%29&amp;filters=0_0_0_31813_0?affiliate_id=27046" target="_blank"><strong>Avarice</strong></a>; <a href="http://www.rpgnow.com/product/103551/Monsters-of-Sin-2%3A-Envy-%28Pathfinder-RPG%29&amp;filters=0_0_0_31813_0?affiliate_id=270466" target="_blank"><strong>Envy</strong></a>; <a href="http://www.rpgnow.com/product/104485/Monsters-of-Sin-4%3A-Lust-%28Pathfinder-RPG%29&amp;filters=0_0_0_31813_0?affiliate_id=270466" target="_blank"> <strong>Lust</strong> </a><br /> </span></li> </ul><p> <span style="font-size: 12px"><strong><em>Monsters of Sin</em></strong> (Avarice, Envy, and Lust) are three of a series of seven supplements from <strong>Open Design</strong>, featuring creatures that have strong thematic ties to each of the “seven deadly sins”. Each short booklet contains four new monsters, complete with stat block and descriptions, as well as information on how they might fit in a campaign. Each featured “sin” also is given a template which can be used on existing monsters to transform them into a creature enslaved by a particular vice. As with many <strong>Open Design</strong> releases, these books include information on how to use the monsters in conjunction with the Midgard Campaign Setting, and how each of the deadly sins found its way into that world.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12px"></span> <span style="font-size: 12px"><strong><u>Production Quality</u></strong></span></p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12px">The production quality is quite good for the three <strong><em>Monsters of Sin</em></strong> (MOS) supplements I had for my review, and the writing is sharp and imaginative. The monster stat blocks are in formats which any Pathfinder or OGL gamemaster will find instantly familiar, and the material is presented in an easy to read and utilize way.</span></p><p></p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px">While there are no bookmarks in the PDFs I reviewed, there is a decent table of contents, and each book is short enough that lack of bookmarks is not too big of a deal. However, from an organizational point of view, as a DM, I would have liked to see the CR value of each monster listed in the ToC or in a separate short appendix for easy reference.</span></p><p></p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px">The artwork in <strong><em>MOS Avarice</em></strong>, <strong><em>MOS Envy</em></strong>, and <strong><em>MOS Lust</em></strong> is quite striking, particularly the cover art on Envy and Lust which is very evocative. The interior art is also stunningly rendered, and although merely in black-and-white ink style, creates powerful images of the creatures being encountered. I think that having the same artists working on the cover and interior art was a very wise move with this series, and I think it does a great job in tying the products tightly together visually and thematically.</span></p><p></p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px"><strong><u>The Monsters of Sin</u></strong></span></p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12px">As previously mentioned, <strong><em>MOS Avarice</em></strong>, <strong><em>MOS Envy</em></strong>, and <strong><em>MOS Lust</em></strong> are just three of a total seven product series, each one bringing certain types of monsters together for Pathfinder/OGL/d20 GMs to use in their campaigns. The monsters range in challenge from CR 1 to CR 21, although the books seem to follow a pattern of a couple low level monsters, an early “teens” monster, and a high level (19-21) “embodiment” of a particular sin. </span></p><p></p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px">The embodiment creatures are literally a sin made flesh, or at least quasi-flesh since were dealing with strange <em>outsiders</em> here, and have powers which can invoke sinful acts in other creatures. These creatures seem more like strange conceptual avatars or minor demi-gods, rather than diabolic or demonic monsters, although they might easily be conceived as the latter, given their evil natures.</span></p><p></p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px">The monster templates for making a typical creature into one that is “enhanced” by a particular sin are fairly basic, letting GMs create things like Avaricious Bugbears who ingest gold, or Envious Elves stealing everything they desire, or even Lust Slave Ogres who are <em>really</em> infatuated by their “leader” (I was thinking Shrek 3 here). But the MOS Lust supplement also had a bonus feature – the Inbred Orc – which was both a monster, but was also designed for use as a character race, for those players who want a challenge of rp’ing an orc with some disturbing random genetic mutations, both good and bad!</span></p><p></p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px">As for the rest of the monsters in <strong><em>MOS Avarice</em></strong>, <strong><em>Envy</em></strong>, and <strong><em>Lust</em></strong>, most of them are some really cool and fun creature concepts here for the most part, although some seemed a bit of a stretch to fit the sin-theme. From <strong><em>MOS Avarice</em></strong>, I really liked the idea of a <em>Hoard Golem</em>, being a construct made literally of a pile of treasure given a giant man-like form and nifty powers. On the other hand, <strong><em>MOS Envy</em></strong> seemed to struggle with concepts of the sin itself, and produced one rather lackluster envy-themed monster (<em>Bone Swarm</em>). But the <em>Re-Echo Doppelganger</em> made up for it, providing a unique new shape-shifter which slowly takes over the powers of its victim. But for me, the clear winner of the trio was <strong><em>MOS Lust</em></strong>, with not only a kick-arse new monster/character race (Inbred Orc), but the hideous and ghostly <em>Lovelorn</em>, and the disturbingly creepy <em>Truffle</em> – a child-like fey creature who forces humanoids to perform intimate acts for “educational” purposes. The <em>Truffle</em> would be a very dangerous creature to wander into the midst of a battle where heroes are pitted against orcs or goblins! (High squick factor here!!!)</span></p><p></p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px"><strong>Overall Score</strong>: 3.7 out of 5.0</span></p><p></p><p> <strong><span style="font-size: 12px"><u>Conclusions</u></span></strong></p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12px">Overall, I enjoyed reviewing the three Monsters of Sin supplements, and they definitely made me wonder about the other four in the series. The writing was good, the monsters were inventive, and the artwork was nicely rendered for each critter – and the cover art was downright stunning! I would have liked to see more monster tactics and ecology text, but what was there was certainly sufficient to use and enjoy the Monsters of Sin in almost any Pathfinder or OGL campaign.</span></p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12px">And you get some decent critters here, although I would have liked to have seen more in each supplement for the price asked. But still it’s only a few bucks per supplement, and worth at least some consideration for any Pathfinder gamemaster.</span></p><p></p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px"><em>So until next review… I wish you happy gaming!</em></span></p><p></p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px"><strong>Reviewer’s Note</strong>: This Reviewer received a complimentary copy of the PDFs from which the review was written.</span></p><p></p><p> <span style="font-size: 12px"><strong><u>Grade Card (Ratings 1 to 5)</u></strong></span></p><p> </p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 12px"><strong>Presentation</strong>: 4.0</span></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 12px">- <em>Design</em>: 4.0 (Good writing and creative monster ideas; solid layout OGL friendly)</span></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 12px">- <em>Illustrations</em>: 4.0 (Awesome cover art and interior illustrations)</span></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 12px"><strong>Content</strong>: 3.5</span></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 12px">- <em>Crunch</em>: 4.0 (Crunch heavy; good power concepts for monsters)</span></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 12px">- <em>Fluff</em>: 3.0 (Adequate fluff; would have appreciated more monster descriptions/ecology)</span></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><span style="font-size: 12px"><strong>Value</strong>: 3.5 (Four monsters and a template is ok for the price asked.)</span></li> </ul></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Neuroglyph, post: 7648942, member: 85633"] [SIZE=3]In the 14th century, a poet named Dante penned these words, which have shaped the perception of Hell for generations of Christians, past and present:[/SIZE][INDENT][SIZE=3]Through me you enter into the city of woes [/SIZE] [SIZE=3]Through me you enter into eternal pain, [/SIZE] [SIZE=3]Through me you enter the population of loss. [/SIZE] [SIZE=3]Abandon all hope, you who enter here.[/SIZE] [/INDENT] [SIZE=3]Dante Alighieri distilled the concepts of theologians into the seven deadly sins, and formed each into a specific location in the Inferno where transgressors were punished in a manner befitting their crimes. All of this created an image of Hell which influences art and literature to this day – and including (not surprisingly) a certain well-known fantasy role-playing game series![/SIZE] [SIZE=3]From a D&D players’ point of view, the allegory of Dante’s [I]Inferno[/I] is all too often made into a very real locality. Over the years since AD&D, Hell has been a strange realm which can be visited by heroes, and its inhabitants are the toughest foes an adventurer can face. From as far back as the old [B][I]Dragon Magazine[/I][/B] series on the [I]Nine Hells[/I], D&D players have made Hell part of the multiverse of adventure, basing much of the lore and locales on the imagination of Dante Alligheri. And for every edition of D&D and Pathfinder, demons and devils, the Abyss and the Hells, all are real threat to the mundane world which must be opposed by stalwart heroes wielding swords and sorcery and divine magic.[/SIZE] [SIZE=3][align=right]http://www.neuroglyphgames.com/rpgblogs/home/neurogly/public_html/rpgblogs/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/MOS-covers.jpg[/align]For Pathfinder players, [B]Open Design[/B] has recently completed a whole series of “mini-monster manuals” featuring malign entities which serve as avatars of one of the seven deadly sins. Now Pathfinder Gamemasters can bring monsters powered by Avarice, Envy, and Lust to challenge heroes for their lives – and even their souls![/SIZE] [SIZE=3][B][U]Monsters of Sin (Avarice, Envy, & Lust)[/U][/B][/SIZE] [LIST] [*][SIZE=3][B]Design[/B]: Ryan Costello, Jr.[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=3][B]Illustrators[/B]: Cory Trego-Erdner (covers), Aaron J Riley (interiors)[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=3][B]Publisher[/B]: Open Design[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=3][B]Year[/B]: 2012[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=3][B]Media[/B]: PDF (10 pages)[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=3][B]Retail Price[/B]: $2.99 from [B]RPGNow.com[/B] – [URL="http://www.rpgnow.com/product/103354/Monsters-of-Sin-1%3A-Avarice-%28Pathfinder-RPG%29&filters=0_0_0_31813_0?affiliate_id=27046"][B]Avarice[/B][/URL]; [URL="http://www.rpgnow.com/product/103551/Monsters-of-Sin-2%3A-Envy-%28Pathfinder-RPG%29&filters=0_0_0_31813_0?affiliate_id=270466"][B]Envy[/B][/URL]; [URL="http://www.rpgnow.com/product/104485/Monsters-of-Sin-4%3A-Lust-%28Pathfinder-RPG%29&filters=0_0_0_31813_0?affiliate_id=270466"] [B]Lust[/B] [/URL] [/SIZE] [/LIST] [SIZE=3][B][I]Monsters of Sin[/I][/B] (Avarice, Envy, and Lust) are three of a series of seven supplements from [B]Open Design[/B], featuring creatures that have strong thematic ties to each of the “seven deadly sins”. Each short booklet contains four new monsters, complete with stat block and descriptions, as well as information on how they might fit in a campaign. Each featured “sin” also is given a template which can be used on existing monsters to transform them into a creature enslaved by a particular vice. As with many [B]Open Design[/B] releases, these books include information on how to use the monsters in conjunction with the Midgard Campaign Setting, and how each of the deadly sins found its way into that world. [/SIZE] [SIZE=3][B][U]Production Quality[/U][/B][/SIZE] [SIZE=3] The production quality is quite good for the three [B][I]Monsters of Sin[/I][/B] (MOS) supplements I had for my review, and the writing is sharp and imaginative. The monster stat blocks are in formats which any Pathfinder or OGL gamemaster will find instantly familiar, and the material is presented in an easy to read and utilize way.[/SIZE] [SIZE=3]While there are no bookmarks in the PDFs I reviewed, there is a decent table of contents, and each book is short enough that lack of bookmarks is not too big of a deal. However, from an organizational point of view, as a DM, I would have liked to see the CR value of each monster listed in the ToC or in a separate short appendix for easy reference.[/SIZE] [SIZE=3]The artwork in [B][I]MOS Avarice[/I][/B], [B][I]MOS Envy[/I][/B], and [B][I]MOS Lust[/I][/B] is quite striking, particularly the cover art on Envy and Lust which is very evocative. The interior art is also stunningly rendered, and although merely in black-and-white ink style, creates powerful images of the creatures being encountered. I think that having the same artists working on the cover and interior art was a very wise move with this series, and I think it does a great job in tying the products tightly together visually and thematically.[/SIZE] [SIZE=3][B][U]The Monsters of Sin[/U][/B][/SIZE] [SIZE=3] As previously mentioned, [B][I]MOS Avarice[/I][/B], [B][I]MOS Envy[/I][/B], and [B][I]MOS Lust[/I][/B] are just three of a total seven product series, each one bringing certain types of monsters together for Pathfinder/OGL/d20 GMs to use in their campaigns. The monsters range in challenge from CR 1 to CR 21, although the books seem to follow a pattern of a couple low level monsters, an early “teens” monster, and a high level (19-21) “embodiment” of a particular sin. [/SIZE] [SIZE=3]The embodiment creatures are literally a sin made flesh, or at least quasi-flesh since were dealing with strange [I]outsiders[/I] here, and have powers which can invoke sinful acts in other creatures. These creatures seem more like strange conceptual avatars or minor demi-gods, rather than diabolic or demonic monsters, although they might easily be conceived as the latter, given their evil natures.[/SIZE] [SIZE=3]The monster templates for making a typical creature into one that is “enhanced” by a particular sin are fairly basic, letting GMs create things like Avaricious Bugbears who ingest gold, or Envious Elves stealing everything they desire, or even Lust Slave Ogres who are [I]really[/I] infatuated by their “leader” (I was thinking Shrek 3 here). But the MOS Lust supplement also had a bonus feature – the Inbred Orc – which was both a monster, but was also designed for use as a character race, for those players who want a challenge of rp’ing an orc with some disturbing random genetic mutations, both good and bad![/SIZE] [SIZE=3]As for the rest of the monsters in [B][I]MOS Avarice[/I][/B], [B][I]Envy[/I][/B], and [B][I]Lust[/I][/B], most of them are some really cool and fun creature concepts here for the most part, although some seemed a bit of a stretch to fit the sin-theme. From [B][I]MOS Avarice[/I][/B], I really liked the idea of a [I]Hoard Golem[/I], being a construct made literally of a pile of treasure given a giant man-like form and nifty powers. On the other hand, [B][I]MOS Envy[/I][/B] seemed to struggle with concepts of the sin itself, and produced one rather lackluster envy-themed monster ([I]Bone Swarm[/I]). But the [I]Re-Echo Doppelganger[/I] made up for it, providing a unique new shape-shifter which slowly takes over the powers of its victim. But for me, the clear winner of the trio was [B][I]MOS Lust[/I][/B], with not only a kick-arse new monster/character race (Inbred Orc), but the hideous and ghostly [I]Lovelorn[/I], and the disturbingly creepy [I]Truffle[/I] – a child-like fey creature who forces humanoids to perform intimate acts for “educational” purposes. The [I]Truffle[/I] would be a very dangerous creature to wander into the midst of a battle where heroes are pitted against orcs or goblins! (High squick factor here!!!)[/SIZE] [SIZE=3][B]Overall Score[/B]: 3.7 out of 5.0[/SIZE] [B][SIZE=3][U]Conclusions[/U][/SIZE][/B] [SIZE=3] Overall, I enjoyed reviewing the three Monsters of Sin supplements, and they definitely made me wonder about the other four in the series. The writing was good, the monsters were inventive, and the artwork was nicely rendered for each critter – and the cover art was downright stunning! I would have liked to see more monster tactics and ecology text, but what was there was certainly sufficient to use and enjoy the Monsters of Sin in almost any Pathfinder or OGL campaign.[/SIZE] [SIZE=3] And you get some decent critters here, although I would have liked to have seen more in each supplement for the price asked. But still it’s only a few bucks per supplement, and worth at least some consideration for any Pathfinder gamemaster.[/SIZE] [SIZE=3][I]So until next review… I wish you happy gaming![/I][/SIZE] [SIZE=3][B]Reviewer’s Note[/B]: This Reviewer received a complimentary copy of the PDFs from which the review was written.[/SIZE] [SIZE=3][B][U]Grade Card (Ratings 1 to 5)[/U][/B][/SIZE] [LIST] [*][SIZE=3][B]Presentation[/B]: 4.0[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=3]- [I]Design[/I]: 4.0 (Good writing and creative monster ideas; solid layout OGL friendly)[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=3]- [I]Illustrations[/I]: 4.0 (Awesome cover art and interior illustrations)[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=3][B]Content[/B]: 3.5[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=3]- [I]Crunch[/I]: 4.0 (Crunch heavy; good power concepts for monsters)[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=3]- [I]Fluff[/I]: 3.0 (Adequate fluff; would have appreciated more monster descriptions/ecology)[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=3][B]Value[/B]: 3.5 (Four monsters and a template is ok for the price asked.)[/SIZE] [/LIST] [/QUOTE]
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Review Triple-Play: Monsters of Sin: Avarice, Envy, and Lust by Open Design
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