DragonLancer said:
A serious question about all the animals you have in there. Since the MM already has enough animal stats that you can have whatever you want anyway, don't you think having all the big cats and other animals is just going to be fluff for the book?
Could they not have been replaced with other new monsters?
A good question.
I wrote the animals a while back (they were originally intended for a section of the KoK Arms & Equipment Guide, but were left in the void when that book was cancelled). So I didn't lose much time working on them - most of them were already done.
Second, most of the details on the animals focuses on variations and regions specific to the KoK campaign session, as well as info lacking from the MM. Here's examples of two animals that appear in the book without stats (since we can't reprint them):
APE
An ape is an aggressive, gorilla-like creature originating on Svimohzia. These large creatures stand 6 feet tall and weigh almost 500 pounds. They are omnivorous, their diet consisting of fruits or anything they can kill and catch. For statistics, see page 193 of the D&D Monster Manual.
ELEPHANT, LABOR
The largest domesticated land animal, the elephant has thick skin, a long trunk and two ivory tusks. Elephants are native to the island of Svimohzia and the Obakasek peninsula, though they have been transplanted to other areas of Tellene (with limited success). These herbivores are often used as mounts or beasts of burden.
The average Svimohzish labor elephant stands from 12 to 13 feet tall, weighing between 11,000 and 14,500 pounds. The standard Obakasek labor elephant stands from 10 to 12 feet tall, weighing between 7,000 and 10,500 pounds. For game statistics, see page 196 of the D&D Monster Manual. (Treat the Indian elephants as Obakasek elephants and the African elephant as a Svimohzish elephant.)
Carrying Capacity (Obakasek): A light load for a labor elephant is up to 540 pounds; a medium load, 541-900 pounds; a heavy load, 901-1300 pounds. A labor elephant can drag 7,875 pounds.
Carrying Capacity (Svimohzish): A light load for a labor elephant is up to 720 pounds; a medium load, 721-1200 pounds; a heavy load, 1201-1740 pounds. A labor elephant can drag 10,500 pounds.
As you see, they don't take up much room, but they add more information to the MM text, as well as pointing out the specific region where they can be found.
===
Mark Plemmons
Kenzer and Company
www.kenzerco.com
===
