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Volume I of the Hacklopedia of Beasts is soft-covered and has 112 pages. The front cover is a drawing of an encounter with a Bulette; the back cover has a sample entry (the Adapter). The inside covers are advertisements for other Hackmaster and Kenzerco products. The first few pages include the usual credits, table of contents, foreword and "How to use this book" as well as a "Reality Check" which informs the reader that Hackmaster is only a game. "Attempting to worship the demons presented in Hacklopedia" the reader is informed, "will result in nothing but ridicule from your peers." 105 pages are devoted to the monsters themselves, over 200 different varieties and sub-varieties.
The first thing that struck me about the Hacklopedia of Beasts series is the artwork, which is very much in the enthusiastic (yet amateurish) style of early AD&D products. Like the AD&D monster manual, each monster receives its own black and white illustration; some (like the Ant men or Carrion Crawler) receive more than one.
Descriptions of each monster include a physical description, notes on combat and tactics, habitat/society, and ecology. A very useful item in each entry is a section called "Yield," which includes notes on which parts of the monster can be used for spell components, medicine, or making magic items, the value (if any) of the creature's hide, and so on.
There are a lot of monsters in this book. Some which caught my eye were the Urban Barbarians, Dire Armadillo, the Hammerhead Landshark (in the bulette entry), the 12 varieties of Beholders and beholderkin, the Avianderthal and the Bullywug. Lots of fun plot ideas, too, like the mind-controlling spider which uses its victims to transport it to new territories, and leaves them with amnesia.
Many of the descriptions are quite amusing. For example, the Anthraxian entry begins "Appearing as cute, wide-eyed bunny rabbits, puppies, or kittens, these savage fiends are really disease-infested horrors that transmit the deadly Anthrax virus to unwitting victims..." Barbarians are "often unwashed, unshaven and scantily clad." The Blind Wretched Pursuer are "gruesome to behold, but their disability makes them unable to pose much of a threat."
Using the Hacklopedia of Beasts is much like using material from an earlier edition of the game; a certain amount of conversion is required. Most of the conversion is straight-forward; Hackmaster AC begins at 10 and goes down, while 3E AC begins at 10 and goes up. Subtract the Hackmaster AC from 20 and you're done. Some material is a little more tricky- like what the heck is a Hackfactor? (It is not defined or explained in *any* of the Hackmaster books!) More often than not an attempt at converting a monster to 3E will be more like creating a monster from scratch. Which is quite a lot of fun, and is great to spring on players.
It is hard to rate this book, since it is not a D20 product, and cannot be immediately used in a 3E game. It is fun to read, the pictures are nice, the ideas are great, and it has a high nostalgia factor for those who began the game with 1st edition AD&D. The book is a little slim for U.S. $19.99, so I don't think I can justify a score better than a 4.
The first thing that struck me about the Hacklopedia of Beasts series is the artwork, which is very much in the enthusiastic (yet amateurish) style of early AD&D products. Like the AD&D monster manual, each monster receives its own black and white illustration; some (like the Ant men or Carrion Crawler) receive more than one.
Descriptions of each monster include a physical description, notes on combat and tactics, habitat/society, and ecology. A very useful item in each entry is a section called "Yield," which includes notes on which parts of the monster can be used for spell components, medicine, or making magic items, the value (if any) of the creature's hide, and so on.
There are a lot of monsters in this book. Some which caught my eye were the Urban Barbarians, Dire Armadillo, the Hammerhead Landshark (in the bulette entry), the 12 varieties of Beholders and beholderkin, the Avianderthal and the Bullywug. Lots of fun plot ideas, too, like the mind-controlling spider which uses its victims to transport it to new territories, and leaves them with amnesia.
Many of the descriptions are quite amusing. For example, the Anthraxian entry begins "Appearing as cute, wide-eyed bunny rabbits, puppies, or kittens, these savage fiends are really disease-infested horrors that transmit the deadly Anthrax virus to unwitting victims..." Barbarians are "often unwashed, unshaven and scantily clad." The Blind Wretched Pursuer are "gruesome to behold, but their disability makes them unable to pose much of a threat."
Using the Hacklopedia of Beasts is much like using material from an earlier edition of the game; a certain amount of conversion is required. Most of the conversion is straight-forward; Hackmaster AC begins at 10 and goes down, while 3E AC begins at 10 and goes up. Subtract the Hackmaster AC from 20 and you're done. Some material is a little more tricky- like what the heck is a Hackfactor? (It is not defined or explained in *any* of the Hackmaster books!) More often than not an attempt at converting a monster to 3E will be more like creating a monster from scratch. Which is quite a lot of fun, and is great to spring on players.
It is hard to rate this book, since it is not a D20 product, and cannot be immediately used in a 3E game. It is fun to read, the pictures are nice, the ideas are great, and it has a high nostalgia factor for those who began the game with 1st edition AD&D. The book is a little slim for U.S. $19.99, so I don't think I can justify a score better than a 4.
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