By John Grigsby, Staff Reviewer d20 Magazine Rack
Sizing Up the Target
Minions: Rebirth is a 132-page full color PDF from Bastion Press that retails for only $9.99. Designed by Greg Dent and a host of others, Minions: Rebirth is a compilation of monsters that will fit neatly into nearly any campaign setting. This work combines two earlier Bastion press releases, Minions and e-Minions, along with 13 pieces of brand-new artwork. As I have not seen either of the earlier works, this review will look at the product as a new work rather than a reprint.
First Blood
Each creature is presented in the standard format for monsters and accompanied by a full-color portrait. Each is also given a Campaign section which describes how the monster would best fit into a campaign and how to utilize it to maximum efficiency. I find this to be a much-needed addition to the standard write-up. Sometimes, you’d really like to use a monster but just can’t figure out how to logically fit it into the adventure. That’s what this section is for, providing ideas on how to best fit the creature into the campaign and some adventure seeds.
Monsters that might be suitable for use as player characters are provided with a brief write-up on favored class, appropriate ECL level, and other information which would be useful to a player running a member of this race.
The creatures themselves span a wide range of challenge ratings and types, from tiny vermin to massive dragons, there’s bound to be something here for everyone. I consider a book of monsters to be valuable if I thumb through it and find myself saying, “Wow! I want to use one of those against my players!” In that respect, Minions: Rebirth earns my respect. There were several instances at which I paused to consider possibilities for encounters with a particular creature.
Even if the book offered nothing more than a collection of 103 new monsters, it would still be worth the price, but you also get four brand-new templates! Now how much would you pay? Well, don’t answer yet, because you also get a new feat and an additional six creatures intended as unique familiars! This make for a lot of material to be offered for a paltry $10 price tag.
Critical Hits
Right up front, I have to say that the best thing about Minions: Rebirth is the artwork. Normally, in a gaming product, artwork is not an essential feature. It’s always nice to have, but it simply isn’t something that you can’t live without. The exceptions to this are monster books.
Artwork is essential to a good compilation of monsters. Without it, the DM is left to the wording of the text to convey the image of the creature and if he or she just can’t see it in their own minds, the players will likely not be able to visualize it either. Artwork helps the DM cement a mental image of the creature and makes it easier to get that across to the players.
The artwork in Minions: Rebirth is beautifully done, presented in glorious full color and rendered by the incredibly talented team at Bastion Press. Each creature is given its own portrait and the portraits match the description in the text, something that is sometimes overlooked in such products. The quality of the artwork alone makes the book worth its price.
Critical Misses
The first thing that comes to mind is, “Where is the picture of the Mangonnel?” I feel that this has to be an accidental omission and not a deliberate oversight, because even creatures like the hearth horror (a haunted locale) and the blessed ring (a ring of toadstools) got their own pictures. The description in the text is certainly complete enough to utilize it, but it just seems odd to leave out one single illustration in a book in which every other creature is given a picture.
Coup De Grace
Without doubt, I have to say that Minions: Rebirth is a worthy purchase for any DM who doesn’t have enough creatures in his or her repertoire (and who does?). As a compilation of the original products, it probably isn’t worth the cost just to get 13 new pictures, but since I haven’t seen the originals, I can’t say for certain. As a standalone product for those of us who missed them when they first came available, this is your chance to pick up a great campaign aid!
As a monster book, it is focused at DMs and players won’t get too much use out of it (nor will their DM appreciate them thumbing through it). What little it offers to players (in the form of notes on using certain races as player characters) can be easily summed up by the DM and given to the player on an individual basis. No, this is a book for the referee and the players should steer clear.
The text write-ups of the creatures are designated as Open Game Content, which means that only the artwork is off-limits (not an unreasonable request) and I noted no errors in the mechanics. Of course, even Wizards of the Coast have as much as said that determining Challenge Ratings is as much as art form as a science, but Bastion Press seems to have done a good job of assigning them. Almost every creature in this work is original. There are a few exceptions, taken from real-world mythology, but they certainly don’t detract from the effort.
Playability is subjective. The work is intended for DMs only, and that factors into the score, but don’t be dissuaded by that fact. Players should not have much use for this book, but DMs should seriously consider it. Without doubt, the price is right for work of this quality.
To see the graded evaluation of this product and to leave comments that the reviewer will respond to, go to The Critic's Corner at www.d20zines.com.
