Lords of Madness Stuff (Update: Some folks have it!)

[Mouseferatu]

In skimming this book last night, I came to a rather odd conclusion. Strange as it is, however, everything I see simply reinforces it. Note that I make this observation as neither a good judgment nor bad, but merely something I've noticed.

While this is a book about a monster type, it is a much closer cousin to the "Races of" books than Draconomicon or Libris Mortis.

Look at the way it's set up. They take a handful of the most prominant aberrations, and devout a chapter to each, covering ecology, culture, etc. The do the same for one or two new races never before seen. They then have sections on new aberrations, feats, PrCs, etc. Compare that set-up to the other two monster books, and they don't look that much alike. Now compare it to Races of the Wild.

Again, I'm not saying this is a good or bad thing. It's just something I was intrigued to note.

 

[Nightfall]

Okay I want to know more about gods and religions in this book. I mean how detailed do we get here?

(And yes I know Orcus probably WON'T get much play but hey with Vampire Illithids, Alhoons, and shadow creatures, I ALWAYS have hope.)

Barring Orcus then, ANY mention of the D&D Archfiends?

 

[Gothmog]

Okay I want to know more about gods and religions in this book. I mean how detailed do we get here?

(And yes I know Orcus probably WON'T get much play but hey with Vampire Illithids, Alhoons, and shadow creatures, I ALWAYS have hope.)

Barring Orcus then, ANY mention of the D&D Archfiends?

No archfiends I can see in here. You have the Great Mother (beholders), Ilsennsine (mind flayers), Ghaunadaur (beholders and underdark critters), the Patient One (aboleths, cloakers, and others), Mak Thuum Ngatha (psurlons and tsochari), and Tharizdun (yay!)- who could personally kick the crap out of pretty much any god or archfiend, chew them up, and drive them nuts!

 

[Nightfall]

Tharizdun. Toss him against Vangal, and watch him cry uncle.

Madness my foot.

Anyway thanks for those insights Gothmog.

Btw who or what is the Patient One?

 

[thorian]

From the WotC boards:

- Chap 1, What's an Abberation?
- Chap 2, The Deep Masters (Aboleths)
- Chap 3, The Eye Tyrants (Beholders)
- Chap 4, The Mind Flayers (Illithids)
- Chap 5, The Slave Takers (Neogi)
- Chap 6, The Eaters (Grell)
- Chap 7, The Wearers of Flesh (Tsochari)
-Chao 8, New Monsters
- Beholderkin
- - Hive Mother
- - Director
- - Eye of the Deep
- - Overseer
- - Spectator
- Gilabrin
- Cloaker, Shadowcloak Elder
- Elder Brain
- Elder Eidolon
- Gas Spore
- Gibbering Mouther
- Half-Farspawn
- Hound of the Gloom
- Illithidae
- - Embrac
- - Kigrid
- - Saltor
- Mindflayer, Alhoon
- Mindflayer, Ulitharid
- Mindflayer, Vampire
- Psuedonatural Creature
- Psurlon (3 types)
- Shaboath
- Shadow Creature
- Silthilar
- Urophion
- Zengalak
- Chap 9. the Abberation Hunter

The PrCs in Chap 9 are...
- The Abolisher
- The Darkrunner
- The Fleshwarper (very cool)
- Keeper of the Cerulean Sign
- Sanctified Mind
- Topaz Guardian

 

[DMH]

Grrr- nothing about naga or ix rays (I am not going even try spelling that).

OTOH, lots on grell (which I think is needed), some very interesting additions to aboleth (including a Lovecraftian history and the ability to survive drying like a tartegrade), and some cool new critters. One I think is based on the CIFAL.

The part that annoyed me the most was "the unhuman mind" where they go on about how aberrations are non-good due to their alien nature and then the swarm critter (the CIFAL) is CG. I don't see any reason why aberrations can't be good- unless all of them can't be good or evil.

I wish they had a book written for the illithid alone so that those pages (plus the mini-adventures that shouldn't be in there) could have been devoted to the aberrations they skipped- the above plus ethergaunts and others.

 

[Andrew D. Gable]

New Monsters...Gibbering Mouther

You sure? The gibbering mouther is in the MM... I doubt they'd reprint MM monsters... is it something else?

 

[DMH]

I forgot about that- yes, they reprinted the gibbering mouther*. And changed the type of the neogi great old master from vermin (since they are suppost to be mindless) to aberration (with an int of 4).

*Since they did that, I wonder how they can say there is no open content in the book. GMs are in the srd.

 

[Felon]

Damn. Sounds light on new monsters, which is a lot of appeal down the drain. Might not be the must-buy book I thought it was.

And just to seek confirmation, there is no section presenting monster classes a la Savage Species? Even Libris Mortis could give us PC ghouls and mohrgs, a few PC aberrations shouldn't be too much to ask.

 

[Mouseferatu]

You sure? The gibbering mouther is in the MM... I doubt they'd reprint MM monsters... is it something else?

It's an errated version, and takes precedence over the MM version.