[Grim Tales] Interstel Captain's Guide to Alien Lifeforms
- Thread starter ragboy
- Start date
Wulf Ratbane
Adventurer
C. Baize said:Interstel?
They got the rights to stat up the races from Starflight, and Starflight II?
Please tell me this is what they did...
And then please tell me they did a good job!
Please.
And mean it.
Please.
No, but it's definitely Starflight inspired, and I think I did a good job.
Really, I mean it.
Wulf
Rodrigo Istalindir
Explorer
Mini-review
Disclaimer: Wulf provided me with a complimentary copy of this PDF.
Captain's Guide to Alien Lifeforms is a two-part electronic product -- a 14 page .PDF containing a basic taxonomy for alien life forms, and an Excel spreadsheet capable of generating random creatures using the traits from the .PDF.
The PDF
The book is broken into four sections: Classification, Abilities, Reward, and Vehicle Technology.
The Classification section is the meat of the product, and is sure to appeal to the world-building crowd. It includes descriptions of basic body types, limb arrangement, intelligence and aggression, and creature type. The first two are useful in establishing the appearance of the organism, and should help those designing creatures by hand in determing what other attributes and abilites the beast should posess. For example, it is improbable (but not impossible) that a creature with two legs and no grasping appendages would have Improved Grab. Since many times a designer will work backwards, deciding what attacks he wants a creature to have before anything else, this can provide a nice reality-check. At the least, it should prepare the DM for the inevitable questions. (Player: How can it grab me? It doesn't have any arms. DM: It's got a prehensile tongue. Shut up and roll.)
Of more use, I think, are "Intelligence Analogue" and "Aggression Analogue". More useful than a number -- how different is a 5 INT from a 4? -- the analogues equate to real-world animals. DM'ing something with an Intelligence Analogue of 'Fox' is a lot easier to get a grip on than 'INT 3'. Aggression Analogue is similar, detailing how something will react to when threatened (or hungry!). These two characteristics give a wonderful sense of how to run the encounter.
Abilities
The abilities section is a breakdown of special qualities and attacks forms that various organisms will possess. Most of these should be familiar to d20 regulars: Improved Grab, Swallow Whole, etc. Each ability includes a description and any associated mechanics, including how to calculate DCs for specific creatures. The abilities included seem to encompass a pretty good range; I couldn't think of anything off the top of my head that wasn't covered in one way or another. Heck, I can even make a Hypno-toad.
Reward Criteria
A short section on calculating how valuable a creature might be to an exploration crew. Variables include whether or not it is captured alive or brough back dead (No disintegrations!), size, aggression, etc. For those of you who ever wondered exactly how much Weyland-Yutani would have paid for an alien, now you can figure it out.
Terrain Vehicle Technology
A one-page write-up of a vehicle used by crews attempting to make a living exploring and bringing back specimens. It includes a breakdown of different scientific modules and their abilities, including sample DCs.
The Spreadsheet
The spreadsheet is a straightforward random generator that will produce a creature based on the categories and abilities detailed in the book. It is essentially non-interactive -- the only action you can take is hitting F9 to generate a new beastie. It produces a statblock suitable for cutting and pasting into a larger document, or simply printing out for quick reference.
This two-part approach is interesting, as it appeals to (in my mind) two different audiences. The written rules should appeal to a GM that wants to hand-create creatures to populate his univerise. The general classification system provides a nice framework for producing consistent critters. The spreadsheet appeals to the GM that wants to wing it, or who gets caught flat-footed and needs to whip up a new foe on the fly (not that that has ever happened to me).
There are a few things missing that I wish had made it into the product. Being the kind of person that would spend hours creating a planetary system in 'Universe', or spaceships in 'Space Opera', the detail is a little light. Categories covering coloration, body covering (carapace, fur, etc), and habitat would be welcome additions. Also, a breakdown of social structure (solitary, hive, pack, etc) would be an ideal compliment to the Intelligence and Aggression Analogues.
The generator, as one would expect from something so random, produces results that range from stuff good enough to drop into a published monster book to the completely absurd. But since a new creature is only a keystroke away, it's trivial to generate a hundred or two till you see one that works for you. Adding a bank of drop-down boxes to the side that would let you contstrain the generator to certain subsets would be a nice touch. Also, the spreadsheet is protected, and the mechanics hidden, making it hard to see how different variables interact.
This product would be a welcome addition to those running sci-fi games where the emphasis was fast and furious planet-hopping adventures, where the party was heading into the unknown on a regular basis. It would certainly cut down on DM prep time, and still provide a consistent and reliable way to generate creatures that may see use in a single encounter.
Disclaimer: Wulf provided me with a complimentary copy of this PDF.
Captain's Guide to Alien Lifeforms is a two-part electronic product -- a 14 page .PDF containing a basic taxonomy for alien life forms, and an Excel spreadsheet capable of generating random creatures using the traits from the .PDF.
The PDF
The book is broken into four sections: Classification, Abilities, Reward, and Vehicle Technology.
The Classification section is the meat of the product, and is sure to appeal to the world-building crowd. It includes descriptions of basic body types, limb arrangement, intelligence and aggression, and creature type. The first two are useful in establishing the appearance of the organism, and should help those designing creatures by hand in determing what other attributes and abilites the beast should posess. For example, it is improbable (but not impossible) that a creature with two legs and no grasping appendages would have Improved Grab. Since many times a designer will work backwards, deciding what attacks he wants a creature to have before anything else, this can provide a nice reality-check. At the least, it should prepare the DM for the inevitable questions. (Player: How can it grab me? It doesn't have any arms. DM: It's got a prehensile tongue. Shut up and roll.)
Of more use, I think, are "Intelligence Analogue" and "Aggression Analogue". More useful than a number -- how different is a 5 INT from a 4? -- the analogues equate to real-world animals. DM'ing something with an Intelligence Analogue of 'Fox' is a lot easier to get a grip on than 'INT 3'. Aggression Analogue is similar, detailing how something will react to when threatened (or hungry!). These two characteristics give a wonderful sense of how to run the encounter.
Abilities
The abilities section is a breakdown of special qualities and attacks forms that various organisms will possess. Most of these should be familiar to d20 regulars: Improved Grab, Swallow Whole, etc. Each ability includes a description and any associated mechanics, including how to calculate DCs for specific creatures. The abilities included seem to encompass a pretty good range; I couldn't think of anything off the top of my head that wasn't covered in one way or another. Heck, I can even make a Hypno-toad.
Reward Criteria
A short section on calculating how valuable a creature might be to an exploration crew. Variables include whether or not it is captured alive or brough back dead (No disintegrations!), size, aggression, etc. For those of you who ever wondered exactly how much Weyland-Yutani would have paid for an alien, now you can figure it out.
Terrain Vehicle Technology
A one-page write-up of a vehicle used by crews attempting to make a living exploring and bringing back specimens. It includes a breakdown of different scientific modules and their abilities, including sample DCs.
The Spreadsheet
The spreadsheet is a straightforward random generator that will produce a creature based on the categories and abilities detailed in the book. It is essentially non-interactive -- the only action you can take is hitting F9 to generate a new beastie. It produces a statblock suitable for cutting and pasting into a larger document, or simply printing out for quick reference.
This two-part approach is interesting, as it appeals to (in my mind) two different audiences. The written rules should appeal to a GM that wants to hand-create creatures to populate his univerise. The general classification system provides a nice framework for producing consistent critters. The spreadsheet appeals to the GM that wants to wing it, or who gets caught flat-footed and needs to whip up a new foe on the fly (not that that has ever happened to me).
There are a few things missing that I wish had made it into the product. Being the kind of person that would spend hours creating a planetary system in 'Universe', or spaceships in 'Space Opera', the detail is a little light. Categories covering coloration, body covering (carapace, fur, etc), and habitat would be welcome additions. Also, a breakdown of social structure (solitary, hive, pack, etc) would be an ideal compliment to the Intelligence and Aggression Analogues.
The generator, as one would expect from something so random, produces results that range from stuff good enough to drop into a published monster book to the completely absurd. But since a new creature is only a keystroke away, it's trivial to generate a hundred or two till you see one that works for you. Adding a bank of drop-down boxes to the side that would let you contstrain the generator to certain subsets would be a nice touch. Also, the spreadsheet is protected, and the mechanics hidden, making it hard to see how different variables interact.
This product would be a welcome addition to those running sci-fi games where the emphasis was fast and furious planet-hopping adventures, where the party was heading into the unknown on a regular basis. It would certainly cut down on DM prep time, and still provide a consistent and reliable way to generate creatures that may see use in a single encounter.
Last edited:
C. Baize
First Post
Breath Weapons.
Heya, Wulf.
I noticed that where a breath weapon is indicated, there's no "recharge time" listed.
Was this purposely left blank for the individual GMs to tinker with, or was it an oversight?
The former is fine (not opposed to it at all), but I wanted to bring it to your attention in case it's the latter.
Enjoying the thing like crazy.
Thanks!
Heya, Wulf.
I noticed that where a breath weapon is indicated, there's no "recharge time" listed.
Was this purposely left blank for the individual GMs to tinker with, or was it an oversight?
The former is fine (not opposed to it at all), but I wanted to bring it to your attention in case it's the latter.
Enjoying the thing like crazy.
Thanks!
GlassJaw
Hero
I have a review all ready to post but it hasn't made it's way to the EN World review page yet so I'll post it here for now.
------------------------
INTERSTEL: Captain's Guide to Alien Lifeforms is a zip file consisting of a pdf and an Excel spreadsheet.
Interstel is a product designed to aid GM's with creating strange and unique alien lifeforms. Interstel provides some generic background information but the non-specificity allows the content to be easily adapted to a variety of settings. The pdf describes the types and qualities of the lifeforms and the Excel spreadsheet provides a random lifeform generator.
PDF
The Interstel pdf is 14 pages long and is completely black and white except for a full-color cover and back page (which is an ad for other Bad Axes Games products). Of the 14 pages, 10 are actual content. The other 4 are the cover page, trademark and copyright page, OGL page, and rear advertisement. It is laid out in a landscape (sideways) format and is written in two columns. The typeface and style is reminiscent of the Grim Tales book. Drawings of various alien beings are also contained in the pdf. While small, they are well-done and add some nice visuals to the text.
Interspersed throughout the pdf are sidebars detailing the diary entries of Science Officer Thrr'assh who is on a ship piloted by a man named Captiain Veeg. In these entries, Thrr'assh describes an expedition to an unkown planet in order to secure lifeforms to sell at the Starport and the subsequent miscalculation by Captain Veeg...
The sidebars are a nice touch and incorporate some of the terminology and equipment detailed in the pdf.
Interstel is comprised of five sections: Introduction/Table of Contents, Classification of Lifeforms, Creature Abilities, Reward Criteria, and Terrain Vehicle Technology.
Introduction
The Introduction begins with a short notice of various Interstel Directives, most notably, Four, Five, and Eight (also known as the "Prime Directive"). Directives Four and Five are elaborated on in the Reward Criteria section. The Prime Directive has something to do with encountering new lifeforms (a la Star Trek). The pdf is presented as a field guide to those seeking out these lifeforms.
Classification of Lifeforms
This section details the five criteria used to describe alien lifeforms: Biomorphic Symmetry, Biomorphic Divergence, Intelligence Analog, Aggression Analog, and Type. Each category has a variety of choices used to classify lifeforms.
Symmetry is used to describe the general shape of the creature (amorphous, radial, etc) and Divergence details the number of appendages or limbs (monopedal, bipedal, etc).
Intelligence and Agression Analog describe behavorial characteristics using known animal types. For example, if a lifeform has an Intelligence Analog of a Slug will seek out food and avoid danger but not much else whereas an Ape can problem-solve and make simple tools. Similarly, a lifeform with the Diasy Agression Analog will barely defend itself but the Piranha will attack without reason.
The last criteria is Type, which is the same as the various types in the Monster Manual. Lifeforms are classified using five types: Animal, Construct, Ooze, Plant, Vermin.
I found the Classification section to be extremely useful, even in non-spacefaring settings. The Intelligence and Agression Analog descriptors can be applied to creatures in any setting and are an excellent way to quickly describe a creature's behavior.
Creature Abilities
This section is the largest of the pdf. It is 4 pages long and describes all the abilities found in the lifeforms. Most of these abilities can be found in the Monster Manual or SRD but some are new or have been altered slightly. While there isn't a lot of new content in this section, it is presented in a well-organized fashion. It can also be easily printed to have as a quick reference.
Reward Criteria
This section further details Directives Four and Five, which basically instruct captains to collect data on and bring back lifeforms. To encourage this, a reward system has been setup by Interstel for those captains that do bring back lifeforms or data.
The Reward Criteria is based on the lifeforms Biomorphic Classification, Aggression Analog, Intelligence, and Size. The reward is also modified by the distance travelled, if the creature is brought back dead, or if only data is brought back. The rewards are given in Monetary Units (mu).
Terrain Vehicle Technology
This section gives stats for a Standard Issue Terrain Vehicle (TV) and various pieces of equipment.
The stats for the TV are fairly vague. It is described as an anti-grav hovercraft with a range of 100 km. It does not list the size of the vehicle or its speed. It lists the crew as six officers and/or crew but does not state how many the vehicle can seat. Again, some of the stats are intentionally vague but I was left wondering at what does the info become TOO vague so as not to be useful. Since only one vehicle is listed, I would have liked a better description of it.
The other equipment listed in this section are a biocorder, laser, nav computer, scanner, stasis field, and stunner.
The biocorder allows the user to determine the various classes of the lifeform being analyzed (size, type, agression, etc). The text states a DC 15 skill check is required but doesn't state the skill needed to operate the biocorder. This makes sense considering any number of settings or rules systems might be used but some examples or guidelines would have been helpful. The Scanner is similar to the biocorder but is used to find mineral deposits. It has a table with increasing DC's (from 10-20) depending on how much information is gained. Again, a specific skill is not listed.
This section also describes two weapons that are mounted on the TV: the laser and stunner. Basically, the laser does 4d6 lethal damage and the scanner 4d6 non-lethal, although it has the added benefit of knocking a creature unconscious for 2d6 rounds if it fails its Massive Damage save (from Grim Tales). The laser states that it consumes energy directly from the TV fuel reserves, although how much fuel it consumes with each usage or the amount of fuel the TV actually has are not given.
The equipment section offers some new things that would definitely fun to use in-game, especially the biocorder and scanner. I would have liked a little bit more information on the mechanics of these devices although they are still easily incorporated into any game.
EXCEL SPREADSHEET
The Interstel spreadsheet is made up of four sheets: the same cover page in the pdf, a sheet with instructions for use, the random alien lifeform output statblock sheet, and the OGL license.
The instructions are easy enough: Click on the Alien Lifeforms tab and press F9. A random lifeform will be generated. The instruction sheet also has a brief FAQ which deals mostly with lifeform names that don't sense. The basic answer is that since the spreadsheet can generate over 10,000 different names, some combinations might not make sense. It goes on to say that sometimes starship captains aren't really sure how to classify certain creatures. I actually like the randomness. While some lifeforms probably aren't usable, sometimes getting something really strange is part of the fun!
The Alien Lifeform page is the heart of this product. This sheet outputs a random lifeform in a two-column statblock that can be copied and pasted into another document. The sheet uses black and white text and is void of borders and lines. This makes for a very clean display.
So let's take it for a spin - hit F9 and BAM! I get a Great Spider - a Gargantuan Ooze (Amorphous). Hmm, that might work. Maybe it's an ooze with a bunch of little tendrils or prickly things sticking it out of it. Let's look at its abilities. It has 28 HD, moves at 60 feet, and has a gore attack. Hmm. Not sure if gore makes sense but that could easily be changed to a slam attack perhaps. It also has blood drain, a breath weapon, disease, engulf, and ferocity special attacks. Yikes, this thing is nasty. The stat block also lists the Biomorph (Amorphous for this creature), Intelligence Analog (Insect), Aggression Analog (Spider), and CR (11). I think this creature would give a group of 11th-level characters a run for their money. This would be a great ooze on some forlorn planet. I could see this engulfing the ship of the hapless explorers.
Let's try it again. F9 and Presto! A Golden Creature - a medium animal (Bilateral Tri-Quadrupedal). This only has 1 HD. It has 2 slams and a bite and has the frenzy, paralysis, and trip special attacks. Maybe it's some kind of golden-furred, 3-legged wolf. I might change the slams to claws but no biggie.
Here's a few other quick names: Dizzy Shaggy Bane, Frenzied Gulper, Crystal-Legged Tortoise.
Right off the bat, this spreadsheet is FUN. Just clicking away gives you a seemingly infinite number of exotic creatures right at your fingertips. After a few minutes of using it, I wanted more features. I would really love to be able to set the CR and have it generate creatures of that CR only. From there, I could see uses for being able to set each criteria one at a time (like type, for example).
CONCLUSION
Interstel: A Captain's Guide to Alien Lifeforms is a great, short pdf: it's a fast read, it gets right to the point, and the material is presented in an organized and easy-to-read fashion. The content is useful and easily adaptable to a multitude of campaigns. And while I would have liked a bit more info on a few things, the lack of info does not take away from the usefulness of the product as a whole.
While the price may be a tad on the high side for a pdf of similar length, the Excel spreadsheet more than makes up for that. It's easy and fast to use and the random creature output is awesome. The problem was that the more I used it, the more features I wanted it to have. This is by no means a fault of the spreadsheet itself. It just illustrates how great a product it is. Bad Axes games has a winner here and I hope to see more products like this from them in the future.
This is a tough product to rate since it is really two distinctly different things. The pdf is nice but could use a bit more info. I would rate it between 3.5 - 4.0. The spreadsheet is easily a 4.5 and possibly even closer to a 5.0. On a scale of 1-10, I would give the pdf a 7 and the spreadsheet a 9. Average these together, you get 8/10 or a 4/5.
------------------------
INTERSTEL: Captain's Guide to Alien Lifeforms is a zip file consisting of a pdf and an Excel spreadsheet.
Interstel is a product designed to aid GM's with creating strange and unique alien lifeforms. Interstel provides some generic background information but the non-specificity allows the content to be easily adapted to a variety of settings. The pdf describes the types and qualities of the lifeforms and the Excel spreadsheet provides a random lifeform generator.
The Interstel pdf is 14 pages long and is completely black and white except for a full-color cover and back page (which is an ad for other Bad Axes Games products). Of the 14 pages, 10 are actual content. The other 4 are the cover page, trademark and copyright page, OGL page, and rear advertisement. It is laid out in a landscape (sideways) format and is written in two columns. The typeface and style is reminiscent of the Grim Tales book. Drawings of various alien beings are also contained in the pdf. While small, they are well-done and add some nice visuals to the text.
Interspersed throughout the pdf are sidebars detailing the diary entries of Science Officer Thrr'assh who is on a ship piloted by a man named Captiain Veeg. In these entries, Thrr'assh describes an expedition to an unkown planet in order to secure lifeforms to sell at the Starport and the subsequent miscalculation by Captain Veeg...
The sidebars are a nice touch and incorporate some of the terminology and equipment detailed in the pdf.
Interstel is comprised of five sections: Introduction/Table of Contents, Classification of Lifeforms, Creature Abilities, Reward Criteria, and Terrain Vehicle Technology.
Introduction
The Introduction begins with a short notice of various Interstel Directives, most notably, Four, Five, and Eight (also known as the "Prime Directive"). Directives Four and Five are elaborated on in the Reward Criteria section. The Prime Directive has something to do with encountering new lifeforms (a la Star Trek). The pdf is presented as a field guide to those seeking out these lifeforms.
Classification of Lifeforms
This section details the five criteria used to describe alien lifeforms: Biomorphic Symmetry, Biomorphic Divergence, Intelligence Analog, Aggression Analog, and Type. Each category has a variety of choices used to classify lifeforms.
Symmetry is used to describe the general shape of the creature (amorphous, radial, etc) and Divergence details the number of appendages or limbs (monopedal, bipedal, etc).
Intelligence and Agression Analog describe behavorial characteristics using known animal types. For example, if a lifeform has an Intelligence Analog of a Slug will seek out food and avoid danger but not much else whereas an Ape can problem-solve and make simple tools. Similarly, a lifeform with the Diasy Agression Analog will barely defend itself but the Piranha will attack without reason.
The last criteria is Type, which is the same as the various types in the Monster Manual. Lifeforms are classified using five types: Animal, Construct, Ooze, Plant, Vermin.
I found the Classification section to be extremely useful, even in non-spacefaring settings. The Intelligence and Agression Analog descriptors can be applied to creatures in any setting and are an excellent way to quickly describe a creature's behavior.
Creature Abilities
This section is the largest of the pdf. It is 4 pages long and describes all the abilities found in the lifeforms. Most of these abilities can be found in the Monster Manual or SRD but some are new or have been altered slightly. While there isn't a lot of new content in this section, it is presented in a well-organized fashion. It can also be easily printed to have as a quick reference.
Reward Criteria
This section further details Directives Four and Five, which basically instruct captains to collect data on and bring back lifeforms. To encourage this, a reward system has been setup by Interstel for those captains that do bring back lifeforms or data.
The Reward Criteria is based on the lifeforms Biomorphic Classification, Aggression Analog, Intelligence, and Size. The reward is also modified by the distance travelled, if the creature is brought back dead, or if only data is brought back. The rewards are given in Monetary Units (mu).
Terrain Vehicle Technology
This section gives stats for a Standard Issue Terrain Vehicle (TV) and various pieces of equipment.
The stats for the TV are fairly vague. It is described as an anti-grav hovercraft with a range of 100 km. It does not list the size of the vehicle or its speed. It lists the crew as six officers and/or crew but does not state how many the vehicle can seat. Again, some of the stats are intentionally vague but I was left wondering at what does the info become TOO vague so as not to be useful. Since only one vehicle is listed, I would have liked a better description of it.
The other equipment listed in this section are a biocorder, laser, nav computer, scanner, stasis field, and stunner.
The biocorder allows the user to determine the various classes of the lifeform being analyzed (size, type, agression, etc). The text states a DC 15 skill check is required but doesn't state the skill needed to operate the biocorder. This makes sense considering any number of settings or rules systems might be used but some examples or guidelines would have been helpful. The Scanner is similar to the biocorder but is used to find mineral deposits. It has a table with increasing DC's (from 10-20) depending on how much information is gained. Again, a specific skill is not listed.
This section also describes two weapons that are mounted on the TV: the laser and stunner. Basically, the laser does 4d6 lethal damage and the scanner 4d6 non-lethal, although it has the added benefit of knocking a creature unconscious for 2d6 rounds if it fails its Massive Damage save (from Grim Tales). The laser states that it consumes energy directly from the TV fuel reserves, although how much fuel it consumes with each usage or the amount of fuel the TV actually has are not given.
The equipment section offers some new things that would definitely fun to use in-game, especially the biocorder and scanner. I would have liked a little bit more information on the mechanics of these devices although they are still easily incorporated into any game.
EXCEL SPREADSHEET
The Interstel spreadsheet is made up of four sheets: the same cover page in the pdf, a sheet with instructions for use, the random alien lifeform output statblock sheet, and the OGL license.
The instructions are easy enough: Click on the Alien Lifeforms tab and press F9. A random lifeform will be generated. The instruction sheet also has a brief FAQ which deals mostly with lifeform names that don't sense. The basic answer is that since the spreadsheet can generate over 10,000 different names, some combinations might not make sense. It goes on to say that sometimes starship captains aren't really sure how to classify certain creatures. I actually like the randomness. While some lifeforms probably aren't usable, sometimes getting something really strange is part of the fun!
The Alien Lifeform page is the heart of this product. This sheet outputs a random lifeform in a two-column statblock that can be copied and pasted into another document. The sheet uses black and white text and is void of borders and lines. This makes for a very clean display.
So let's take it for a spin - hit F9 and BAM! I get a Great Spider - a Gargantuan Ooze (Amorphous). Hmm, that might work. Maybe it's an ooze with a bunch of little tendrils or prickly things sticking it out of it. Let's look at its abilities. It has 28 HD, moves at 60 feet, and has a gore attack. Hmm. Not sure if gore makes sense but that could easily be changed to a slam attack perhaps. It also has blood drain, a breath weapon, disease, engulf, and ferocity special attacks. Yikes, this thing is nasty. The stat block also lists the Biomorph (Amorphous for this creature), Intelligence Analog (Insect), Aggression Analog (Spider), and CR (11). I think this creature would give a group of 11th-level characters a run for their money. This would be a great ooze on some forlorn planet. I could see this engulfing the ship of the hapless explorers.
Let's try it again. F9 and Presto! A Golden Creature - a medium animal (Bilateral Tri-Quadrupedal). This only has 1 HD. It has 2 slams and a bite and has the frenzy, paralysis, and trip special attacks. Maybe it's some kind of golden-furred, 3-legged wolf. I might change the slams to claws but no biggie.
Here's a few other quick names: Dizzy Shaggy Bane, Frenzied Gulper, Crystal-Legged Tortoise.
Right off the bat, this spreadsheet is FUN. Just clicking away gives you a seemingly infinite number of exotic creatures right at your fingertips. After a few minutes of using it, I wanted more features. I would really love to be able to set the CR and have it generate creatures of that CR only. From there, I could see uses for being able to set each criteria one at a time (like type, for example).
CONCLUSION
Interstel: A Captain's Guide to Alien Lifeforms is a great, short pdf: it's a fast read, it gets right to the point, and the material is presented in an organized and easy-to-read fashion. The content is useful and easily adaptable to a multitude of campaigns. And while I would have liked a bit more info on a few things, the lack of info does not take away from the usefulness of the product as a whole.
While the price may be a tad on the high side for a pdf of similar length, the Excel spreadsheet more than makes up for that. It's easy and fast to use and the random creature output is awesome. The problem was that the more I used it, the more features I wanted it to have. This is by no means a fault of the spreadsheet itself. It just illustrates how great a product it is. Bad Axes games has a winner here and I hope to see more products like this from them in the future.
This is a tough product to rate since it is really two distinctly different things. The pdf is nice but could use a bit more info. I would rate it between 3.5 - 4.0. The spreadsheet is easily a 4.5 and possibly even closer to a 5.0. On a scale of 1-10, I would give the pdf a 7 and the spreadsheet a 9. Average these together, you get 8/10 or a 4/5.
Wulf Ratbane
Adventurer
C. Baize said:
It was an oversight. The CR calculation is based on "5 or more times/day, once every 1d4 rounds."
Wulf
AdmundfortGeographer
Getting lost in fantasy maps
I'm just curious but where can this .PDF product be found? I checked the Bad Axe website and I didn't see anything... an anouncement nor release date...
Am I hopelessly out of the loop?
Regards,
Eric Anondson
Am I hopelessly out of the loop?
Regards,
Eric Anondson
Rodrigo Istalindir
Explorer
Here's a link to the Bad Axe Games section at RPGNow. RPGNow is an excellent source for PDF products from a ton of different publishers. A very dangerous place, as it is all too easy to pick up 8 or 10 things that are only a few bucks a pop, and then have heart failure when you go to checkout.
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