What is the Hacklopedia Field Manual?
The Hacklopedia Field Manual is a compilation of variants of monsters from the eight volume Hacklopedia of Beasts (HoB), as well as some additional monsters that were previously printed in other sources. The Field Manual is 144 pages with a color cover and black and white interior art, some new and some that has been cleverly retouched to better represent the monster variants.
What do you mean by ‘variant’ monsters?
Most of the book’s monsters have had a variant applied from the Monster Matrix reference manual. This means you get a spotted version of a Great Horned Owlbear instead of the regular Great Horned Owlbear. You also get arcane, bandy-tailed, burrowing, civilized, horned, Jurassic, shadow, etc. versions of monsters. Any changes to a monster’s abilities that come from the variant are listed at the beginning of the monster’s listing.
Why should I buy it?
If you haven’t bought any of the eight volumes of the HoB, the Field Manual is the only monster book you need to get started playing HackMaster. And even if you have all eight volumes, it’s an excellent alternative book to take to games when you don’t want to haul a heavy load. Even cooler is the fact that the individual monster listings are formatted so that the GM can easily leave out the variant information and run the standard version of the monster. These means you effectively get double the number of monsters! As an added bonus, each monster listing includes the appropriate fatigue facture and threshold of pain rating so you don’t have to figure them out for yourself.
Is it worth my money?
If you don’t have any or all of the HoBs and you want to play HackMaster, it’s definitely worth your money. Even if you do have the HoBs it’s not a bad investment to save some weight in your backpack. A few descriptions could have been written a little more clearly, but overall the book is an excellent value.
