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Enchanted Trinkets Complete--a hardcover book containing over 500 magic items for your D&D games!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Messageboard Golem" data-source="post: 2009525" data-attributes="member: 18387">By Steve Creech, Exec. Chairman, d20 Magazine RackThis review is for Jade Dragons & Hungry Ghosts by Green Ronin Publishing (www.greenronin.com). Jade Dragons & Hungry Ghosts carries the subtitle of Monsters of the East which says it all about this 64-page book. For a retail price of $14.95, you get 56 Eastern monsters plus 1 monster template. While there are 10 completely new monsters, the remaining 46 are drawn from existing Burmese, Cambodian, Chinese, Japanese, Malaysian, Philippine, Thai, and Vietnamese legends and myths. Beginning with an introduction by the respected (and sometimes worshipped) David “Zeb” Cook, the books jumps right in with monsters ranging from a Challenge Rating of ½ to 25. There is even a deity (you know, immortal and unbeatable) thrown in for good measure called the Monkey King. Sixteen of the monsters have an advancement based upon character class, giving a GM even more tools to make these creatures “interesting”. The two dragons listed (Jade and Poison) both are representative of the eastern dragon concepts. Despite the fact that I don’t run an Eastern or Oriental campaign, I have to say that I like this book. Not only is the black-and-white art first rate (reminiscent of Japanese pen and ink drawings), but the entire layout is clean and concise. There are several entries I plan to use as NPC encounters or as monsters to attack the party. A pair of Wasp Warriors with a few levels of fighter added to them makes an awesome combination against a mid-level party. The Tiger General is a perfect behind-the-scenes master villain. The Thuong-luong, a colossal aquatic dragon, is ideal for an ocean-going vessel carrying the PCs to a destination. Nothing like hitting a really cocky high-level party with a 41-60HD giant of a monster (that’s over 660hp and counting, folks) and leaving them quaking in their boots. I have to say my absolute favorite creature in this book is the Tanuki, a small humanoid resembling a badger that can also double as a PC. My second favorite is Ryujin, the Dragon Emperor. He’s a colossal oriental dragon with an average of 902hp (take that, you 20th level monk!) and a real attitude to go with every point. Bamboo elves and Giant Pandas also have really great potential to develop into something fun. Overall, Jade Dragons & Hungry Ghosts is quite good. Although it has limited applications outside of an Oriental flavored campaign, there are several monsters that will challenge even the most powerful of adventurers. Running an Eastern or Oriental campaign like Rokugen? Buy it!! Any other campaign, take a good look at it first to see if you can make it fit into your world.To see the graded evaluation of this product, go to The Critic's Corner at <a href="http://www.d20zines.com" target="_blank">www.d20zines.com.</a></blockquote>

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