Replacements and additions for your monsters
The Iconic Bestiary is a new line of books by Lions Den Press, distributed by Ronin Arts. This first book, “The Classics of Fantasy”, is written by Ari Marmell and covers creatures that were removed from the SRD monster section some time ago.
We have the following creatures with the following CRs with the ‘original’ creature:
- Ei’risai (Slaadi)
- Lesser Ei’risai CR7
- Medial Ei’risai CR8
- Greater Ei’risai CR9
- Master Ei’risai CR10
- Ancestor Ei’risai CR13
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- Evil Eye (Beholder) CR13
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- Greymalkin (Displacerbeast) CR4
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- Ophiduan (Yuanti)
- Hominis Caste Ophiduan CR5
- Semiferum Caste Ophiduan CR3
- Anguineum Caste Ophiduan CR7
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- Phrenic Scourge (Mind Flayer) CR8
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- Scavenger Worm (Carrion Crawler) CR4
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- Tunnel Brute (Umber Hulk) CR7
I like the idea behind this book. It’s not the first book to make replacements for the missing monsters. and it may not be the best one. For casual readers, they might not even care. Lords of Madness just came out from Wizards of the Coast so we have official material. Phil did Possessors, a Mind Flayer replacement some time ago. Others have added their own touches here and there. However, it updates many of them in one product and gives a reader a quick and easy reference. For others like me, it gives me more tools to add to my campaign that the players may not be expecting.
In terms of game mechanics, most were correct from a casual reading. (In other words, I’m no John Cooper.) I caught two and sent them off for correction. One of the benefits of a PDF file. In terms of art and layout, the book uses the minimalist approach. The cover features the Phrenic Scourge in full color, while the interior has an illustration of several Ophiduan and a Tunnel Brute. Art is solid in all cases and has a familiar feel to it since it’s all done by one artist, Beth Trott. Bookmarks are simple things making this a simple electronic file in that it doesn’t offer a lot of pop ups or even links to say, Possessors for another look at a Mind Flayer replacement.
Each monster starts with name and then description under it. This is different from the standard MM where the statistics are listed and then followed up by the description passage. This takes up a bit of space and given a more stern hand, this book could’ve probably been folded into something half it’s size. Given the benefit of PDF publishing however, the fact that it's easy to read onscreen as well as prints cleanly, are good points.
In terms of utility, I can already see myself using several creatures from this book. Let’s start off with the ei’risai. These are entities of pure chaos that improve themselves by creating others of their kind. While looking nothing like a slaad, a big frog thing, they manage to embody the whole concept of chaos quite nicely and coming in several different strengths, they’re easy to use against a wide array of party levels and characters. The random tables to help you generate the creatures insures that no two encounters with these monsters will ever be the same twice. However, I’d note that while you can roll as you’re generating the encounter, it’d probably be best to have those bits of information ahead of time on an index card or something.
Another favorite, the Phrenic Scourge, is the replacement for the Mind Flayer and is featured on the cover. This thing is composed of a nerve cluster that is surrounded with tentacles. Unlike a standard Mind Flayer, this thing doesn’t really have a face, hands or feet, just tendrils. The neat thing about it though, is that the author hasn’t given it a ton of background or information. This means that I can have them be some experiment by the Mind Flayers that they thought failed and left to it’s own devices, allowing the creature’s population to grow as they infest others with their tendrils, which break off and dig their way into the creatures they’ve struck.
The only race that failed to impress me was the Ophidiuan, the Yuan-Ti replacement. I guess after reading about Serpent People in Robert E. Howard’s fiction, and seeing a similar looking replacement in one of the Tomes of Horror, and the fact that it’s another snake race after we’ve already had Serpent Kingdoms from Forgotten Realms, and the Assathi from the Scarred Lands, just puts it low on my list of things I’ll be using.
Others will be used for brute force when I need to mix things up. The Scavenger Worm for example, is a perfect replacement for the Carrion Crawler. Unlike that ancient and venerable monster, the Scavenger does not have multiple tendrils with which to immobilize it’s prey. Instead, it spits poison in a cone and then goes to work on it’s enemies that way.
On the other hand, the Tunnel Brute is great for smashing the players with physical strength. This replacement for the Umber Hulk is a mix of giant and insect and has a poisonous tail that concentrates it’s venom into a more potent attack.
In terms of overall utility, the book has a lot of potential. As it’s a PDF, and as many publishers would probably be interested in replacing core monsters removed from the SRD, I feel that the author, and indeed, almost all PDF authors of monster books, has missed a slight opportunity in not included an abbreviated stat block for easy of copying and pasting, as opposed to printing off whole pages or rewriting the stat block themselves.
A minor quibble, and one that won’t effect any game users of the material, the Iconic Bestiary is off to a strong start. Now if only they were covering Mythos monsters…
I really wanted to create new monsters that filled the same niche, evoked the same feeling, and possessed similar abilities to the originals. Based on the responses--including this review--I'd like to think I succeeded.
