[Green Ronin] Advanced Bestiary

[Psion]

I just got this book and thought I'd chime in a few thoughts.

First thoughts: Wow. If you like templates, you will like this book. Because that is what it is really all about.

Some really surprised me. I mean some template concepts are pretty apparent, but Four Horseman of the Apocolypse was not my first thought of the sort of creature that you would make into a template. In fact, I found the thought sort of curious until I saw how they worked with it. Then I was like "ouch." Here's the thing: the four horseman are not physical creatures to be beat. They are manifestations of destruction. So long as any of the four horsemen remain, when one is destroyed, the destroyed horseman can possess a new creature. Which makes for a very nasty and challenging creature.

Good news for OGC fans, there are Open Content takes on concepts previously only addressed in closed content, like reptilian, aquatic, and insectoid templates. Viva la OGC!

Contrasting it with Book of Templates, there are fewer templates built around specific capabilities and more that are full concepts. But they have less of the "building block" feel.

 

[Varianor Abroad]

Aside from the one "ouch", how much of this is going to make its way into your game, do you think? Put differently, how much is useable?

 

[Psion]

Aside from the one "ouch", how much of this is going to make its way into your game, do you think? Put differently, how much is useable?

I'd say a fair bit. Obviously, this will appeal to you the most if you are the sort of person who dug Monster's Handbook and Book of Templates Deluxe Edition. Templates do take a fair bit of time to apply for more complex templates, so there are some I just wont feel are worth the investment. But there are sample templated creatures for each template, so if you dig a given concept by itself, you can drop it right in.

 

[Crothian]

Are their templates of different power? Obviously the 4 horsemen templates are going to be pretty darn powerful, but do most of the templates hover around CR+1 nd +2?

 

[Psion]

Templates range from -4 (feral dragon) to +6 (adamantine clad)

Four Horseman template is only +2, but that is only for defeating a specific templated creature. Obviously, if you have some trouble overcoming the "hot potato" aspect of the template, that could be XP for several creatures (and the book recommends a "special XP bonus.")

 

[philreed]

Sounds like an important product to grab. How many templates, roughly, are in the book?

 

[Psion]

"Over 100" new templates, according to the back cover blurb.

 

[Nellisir]

Sounds like Heaven to me.


Nell.

 

[Napftor]

That does sound good. Green Ronin's OGC generosity has always impressed me.

 

[Psion]

Here's another cool concept from the book:

Creature swarm. Basically it creates a swarm of smaller versions of the base creature. So, picture a hive-mind dragon made up of little gecko-sized dragons. (I must do this...)