Another....Favorite Monster Manuals Thread.

[Soel]

we were considering a DoA2.

Yes!

 

[Melan]

Tome of Horrors from Necromancer Games is one of the most useful monster tomes for 3rd edition, especially for reintroducing a lot of creepy-crawlies missed in the core books. Can you have a meaningful D&D® experience without giant beetles? Can you have one without Giant Frogs ? That's right!

 

[freyar]

As far as bang for the buck goes, what about free online resources like the Book of Beasts and the Netbook of Creatures? Admittedly, these are low on art and have only a few really exciting monsters IMHO (and are 3.0E, which isn't a big deal), but you can't beat the price! Can't remember where to find these, though (or the PDF of the Creature Catalog from the folks here at ENWorld).

Just out of curiosity, what is the general opinion of these PDFs?

 

[JVisgaitis]

1) I want a picture of each creature. It doesn't have to be a great picture....just something to help me and my players visualize what the book is talking about.

I'd say Denizens of Avadnu if you're looking for different types of monsters you can't find anywhere else and if you want interesting mechanics. For art we have you covered and sometimes have 2 pictures per entry. Its a plus that you mention the art doesn't need to be great as people either love or hate our art style...

2) There needs to be a lot of monsters in the book. I'm willing to pay more for a book if it is large....and that's what I want. I know there are good monster/creature manuals with less monsters...but I'd like a book that's full of plenty of 'em.

We have close to 200 and have about 14 templates so its pretty full. We also have a few creature types that allow you to modify the base creature significantly which gives you a lot more options.

And, yes, I'm looking for the best bang for the buck. I'm asking for your suggestions because I have a limited idea of what is out there.

Well, you can't do better then 224 pages and full color for $20.00. Here's a link to the product page with an art gallery and previews at the very bottom.

I personally wouldn't recommend Monsternomicon based on what you're looking for. Its an awesome book, don't get me wrong, but there aren't a lot of monsters in there. For me, I also find it difficult to use as the descriptions and writing is way overwrought. Some people like that, but not me. I want to get a quick feel for a creature at a glance and drop it into my game.

I'd also recommend any of the Tome of Horrors books. All great classics and old school creatures in those.

 

[RainOfSteel]

Well, they're 3.0, but IMO, that's not significant.

Sword & Sorcery: Creature Collection I and II.

I also liked the Tome of Horrors and some of the creatures in the Epic Level Handbook.

 

[Crothian]

Beastiary of Krynn has a lot of good and fun creatures.

 

[Hstio]

Another vote for the Monsternomicon. the book has great flavor, art, a clear depiction of the size of the creature compared to an average human, and a clear idea of what people might know about the monster in question. While all of the monsters might not be applicable to your campaign, the presentation is superb, really how a monster book should be done. I'm glad they're going to do a second volume.

Hstio

 

[Ulric]

[*]Tome of Horrors Revised - Repeats many classics that got missed, and introduces some great new creatures. Examples include catlord, crypt things, faerie dragons, psionic elementals, inphidians, and quicklings.

Question: Is this only available in a pdf file? Is this available anywhere in hardback?

As far as bang for the buck goes, what about free online resources like the Book of Beasts and the Netbook of Creatures? Admittedly, these are low on art and have only a few really exciting monsters IMHO (and are 3.0E, which isn't a big deal), but you can't beat the price! Can't remember where to find these, though (or the PDF of the Creature Catalog from the folks here at ENWorld).

Found Book of Beasts: www.dcrouzet.net/nbomisc/downloads/bookofbeasts_v4.pdf

Anyone know where to find the "Creature Catolog"?

 

[Crothian]

Question: Is this only available in a pdf file? Is this available anywhere in hardback?

Only as a PDF

 

[Heathansson]

I like the Fiend Folio a lot.
I think the Monsternomicon is pretty snazzy too.