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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Crypt King" data-source="post: 2011722" data-attributes="member: 21">Well being a fan of both Horror and Lovecraftian goodness I couldn’t pass up the chance to check out the Dryden Hero or Horror d20/OGL supplement.  Since I already incorporate both aspects of the genre into my current Dungeons and Dragons campaign, I approached the product on how I could incorporate it into my world.  The product introduces us to a new race, the Dryden.  The Dryden are a race of shape shifting tentacled horrors that can change between their parent race, to a tentacled mass and a hybrid form.  This race can be used as an enemy, a player character race, or even both.Disclaimer:  I do not like or play d20 modern or d20 future.  However to give an honest review I approached the product without that in mind.The Basics:Dryden, Hero or HorrorA d20 supplement for OGL Fantasy, OGL Modern, or OGL Future.57 PagesPDF FormatAncient Awakenings PublicationsCreditsJohn Bowden - Writer/DesignerRebecca Bowden - EditorFil Kearney - Cover ArtBrad McDevitt - Border and Logo ArtBrian Laframboise - Interior ArtRick Hershey - Interior ArtThe product is broken down into 7 sections.1.    Forward: Who are the Dryden and how to and how not to use them.2.    Dryden Racial Class: The race broken down as a add on class (not an actual race in itself)3.    Dryden Mating: Mating habits4.    OGL Fantasy: How to use them in D&D and similar games5.    OGL Modern: d20 Modern and Spycraft type games6.    OGL Future: d20 Future7.    OGL License: The licenseReview by SectionForward: The forward is basic, with discussion on the race concept, their open ended ness and the goals of the product.  Pretty standard for most products.  What was actually interesting is the How NOT to use the book section.  It explains that the book is for Mature Audiences and that the race itself can be found offensive even if the Guy/Girl in charge of the game doesn’t think so.  This I can agree upon, some may find the thought of a race that uses other races to breed and incubate their young as offensive.  Then again those that would find this offensive probably wouldn’t like the movie Alien either.  This honestly is what attracted me to the product, the racial concept.Dryden Racial Class:  The supplement approaches the race concept as a racial class.  The character has to take a feat “Born Dryden,” before they can take levels in the class.  Unlike other products with a racial class, this class is presented much like a Prestige Class that gives a Racial Talent at each level.  The additions for other d20 products, Defense and Reputation are also there.  It’s an interesting take on the concept, since by nature the race is a hybrid of other races, yet it dodges the whole “throw on a template,” style of racial creation.  However I found the feat that has to be spent for the ability to take the class underwhelming.  A modest bonus or ability would have been nice.  To sacrifice a feat in a game where they are hard to come by, just to take a class and the feat being underwhelming doesn’t bode well.  I would add some type of bonus, such as a bonus to Disguise skill or perhaps Fortitude saves.The Dryden race is composed of various talents that can be added to the race that can be gained over 10 levels of the race.  With the variety of talents, it helps the race to be a more customizable race with a lot of variation.  This is probably the best selling point of the race.  Each of the talents incorporates an aspect of the control the character has over his body, from the malleability of the characters form, ability of it’s tendrils to its shape changing ability.  Some talents stack with multiple additions of the talents, while others are stand alone aspects.  Does the race have a potential for abuse, Oh Hell Yes. However a good gamemaster will be able to take care of that issues.Dryden Mating:  This is the section that gets the Mature Rating going.  This section describes the rules for the mating act, a variant of the Coup De Grace maneuver and the effects of the mating procedure.  Additional information on is given for the incubation and birthing act depending on the genre and game being used.  While an exceptional idea, I think it should have been approached with more towards different styles of the birth process, not based on individual game systems but game styles instead.  For example they break it down into normal pregnancy for fantasy (a normal healthy pregnancy), accelerated for modern (a more painful and harsher but non lethal pregnancy) and almost instant for future (think Aliens).  A better approach would be to present it on how the gamemaster wants the race to be presented.  With that in mind it’s easier to look past it to determine how the race is used, slow spawn of a elder creature or chest bursting alien parasite ready to crunch men at arms.  Visions of impregnated offerings hanging in a corridor as a party of adventurers walks by with these little buggers popping out ready to kill appeals to me.OGL – Fantasy, Modern and Future.  Each section is divided into example backgrounds/history of the race and it’s interaction with the world.  The fantasy background has the race as a peaceful race of plant/animals that mate with the other sentient beings in a more cohabitation situation.  Included is a professional template that can be added to an impregnated character, the Wife of Bereverak which gives a sorcerer character access to the healing domain and air domain spells.  For modern the race takes on an animalistic hunter, very much in tune with a Cthulhu based creature or something similar to Species.  This version fits well in the whole secret conspiracy, pod people planning to take over the world style of games.  The future version is the super dark, alien destructive force that takes pleasure in what it does.  Now granted each version is presented as the standard for a certain genre, I feel that each one could easily be incorporated into any genre.Art: The art in the product ranges from average to pretty decent or even really good.  Is it outstanding, no?  Does any of it outright suck? No.  However the art does invoke the feelings of the book and my personal favorite is the Dryden reprising a scene from La Blue girl on a hapless would be hero.  There is some dreaded nipple so those that find it offensive, best bet to skip the pages with them.  I will say that the art is better then a lot of products out there, and unlike other “mature offerings,” out there like the Book of Erotic Fantasy, this product actually uses relevant art and catches the feeling of the product.Overall:  The product approaches the concept with a lot more maturity then some other products out there.  The concept that mature book doesn’t have to have dildo wands, incestuous demons with graphic depiction of viscera seems to be rare in this market.  I like the concept of the race, which fills a void I didn’t know I have.  While I enjoy the concept and background of the race, the class concept used for the race abilities I feel works for the d20 Modern or d20 Future more then say d20 Fantasy.  It’s a perfect Lovecraftian horror or genetic experiment gone wrong, or a race of dimensional rejects trying to find a place on another world.  On a scale of 10 I would give it a hard 8 with a 9 for the race concept itself.  It’s not perfect but it’s pretty darn good, especially in a land of a lot of glut in d20 stuff out there, a glut I tend to distance myself from.  I look foreword to more products from Ancient Awakenings Publications, a company I pretty much ignored until now.</blockquote>

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