Hi guys,
Things are getting busy here in the Mongoose offices at the moment! First off, if you can get there, Mongoose Publishing will be at UK GenCon next week and we have lots going on! The all new Slaine RPG will be premiering at this convention and though the author, Ian Sturrock, is currently recovering from an appendectomy (ouch!), he is currently fighting is way through recovery and hopes to be present to both sign copies of the book and (health permitting) run a few demo games of this new Celtic fantasy game. We will also be running demos of Judge Dredd & Gladiator, and will have some treats such as The Quintessential Witch ready for you!
The web site has been updated with September's releases (we are just waiting for the cover artwork for Encyclopaedia Arcane: Enchantment) and have full details of Ultimate Prestige Classes (a gorgeous 256 page hardback stuffed full of the best and most exiciting prestige classes to have appeared in many d20 books, as well as a whole bunch of new material), The Slayer's Guide to Female Gamers, The Quintessential Witch, the first Slaine supplement (Tir Nan Og) and, for Judge DRedd, The Rookie's Guide to Criminal Organisations and Russian Roluette.
Just before we left for GenCon in the US, The Quintessential Monk dropped on my desk, and this one is a real cracker!
Penned by Patrick Younts (Stormhaven), this book gives a huge number of new and cool things to do with your Monk character, whatever his race. Character Concepts allows for many of the renowned archetypes seen in Hong Kong cinema to enter the d20 System, including the Eunnuch (not sure how many players will pick that one!), Temple Orphan, Wanderer, Former Sumotori and many more.
The Prestige Monk chapter takes these ideas further and allows the customisation and tweaking of the Monk class with the Blind Master, King Lion Boxer, Mage Slayer and Iron Legs Kickboxer (again, amongst many others!). Reading through the book, it was at about this point that I decided my next character just _has_ to be a Monk! A major new addition to this character class is the Alternative Fighting Schools, which allow Monk characters to break away from the archetype detailed in The Player's Handbook to become something truly unique - fancy learning how to fight using Earth Dragon Wrestling? The Way of the Titans? Smoke Sword? They are all here. . .
One of my favourite chapters in the Quintessential line is Tricks of the Trade - it is here a class can really be expanded with seriously cool things to do (note to potential freelancers - many submissions for QUintessential books stand or fall on how much appears in this chapter, so take heed!). For Monks, we have Pressure Point Attacks, new grappling options, Push Hands Competitions, the Lion Dance, Dirty Tricks (!) and new uses for skills that will allow you to emulate many of the characters seen in Hong Kong cinema.
We like to introduce new feats in every Quintessential book in order to give characters a wealth of new options, and here Patrick Younts has really outdone himself - you know you have to do a Monk character next when there are such feats available as Clever Monkey Spins the Branch, Frog on the Lilypad, Tiger Treads on Eggshells and Twin Snakes Share the Fang!
Tools of the Trade has more martial arts weaponry, armour and artefacts than you can shake a dead squirrel at - I am not even going to try to cover it all, except to say Patrick has filled 14 pages full of items that will find their way into every monastery across the land. Tournaments are a staple of Hong Kong cinema, and have a full chapter dedicated to them, while Renown allows a Monk's fame and wisdom to influence the entire world.
Martial Arts Traditions gives both a primer and rules to cover many of the forms of address and rules of conduct common in martial arts, and translates them directly to worlds of fantasy. Next up is Legendary Forms, which allows Monks to travel long and far in order to uncover lost tomes of forgotten knowledge that can allow them to truly transcend in their abilities during combat. Learn the secrets of the Shaky Palm, Tan Tui, the Mad Devil Staff or the Waking Trance. The book winds up with a sizeable chapter on Building Monasteries and Schools, which includes training equipment and attracting students.
I personally neither wrote nor edited this book, so I feel fairly safe in saying The Quintessential Monk is an awesome piece of work. If you have a Monk character, this book will expand him or her in so many cool new ways. If you don't have one - well, uyou may well after flicking through this book!
Happy gaming,
Things are getting busy here in the Mongoose offices at the moment! First off, if you can get there, Mongoose Publishing will be at UK GenCon next week and we have lots going on! The all new Slaine RPG will be premiering at this convention and though the author, Ian Sturrock, is currently recovering from an appendectomy (ouch!), he is currently fighting is way through recovery and hopes to be present to both sign copies of the book and (health permitting) run a few demo games of this new Celtic fantasy game. We will also be running demos of Judge Dredd & Gladiator, and will have some treats such as The Quintessential Witch ready for you!
The web site has been updated with September's releases (we are just waiting for the cover artwork for Encyclopaedia Arcane: Enchantment) and have full details of Ultimate Prestige Classes (a gorgeous 256 page hardback stuffed full of the best and most exiciting prestige classes to have appeared in many d20 books, as well as a whole bunch of new material), The Slayer's Guide to Female Gamers, The Quintessential Witch, the first Slaine supplement (Tir Nan Og) and, for Judge DRedd, The Rookie's Guide to Criminal Organisations and Russian Roluette.
Just before we left for GenCon in the US, The Quintessential Monk dropped on my desk, and this one is a real cracker!
Penned by Patrick Younts (Stormhaven), this book gives a huge number of new and cool things to do with your Monk character, whatever his race. Character Concepts allows for many of the renowned archetypes seen in Hong Kong cinema to enter the d20 System, including the Eunnuch (not sure how many players will pick that one!), Temple Orphan, Wanderer, Former Sumotori and many more.
The Prestige Monk chapter takes these ideas further and allows the customisation and tweaking of the Monk class with the Blind Master, King Lion Boxer, Mage Slayer and Iron Legs Kickboxer (again, amongst many others!). Reading through the book, it was at about this point that I decided my next character just _has_ to be a Monk! A major new addition to this character class is the Alternative Fighting Schools, which allow Monk characters to break away from the archetype detailed in The Player's Handbook to become something truly unique - fancy learning how to fight using Earth Dragon Wrestling? The Way of the Titans? Smoke Sword? They are all here. . .
One of my favourite chapters in the Quintessential line is Tricks of the Trade - it is here a class can really be expanded with seriously cool things to do (note to potential freelancers - many submissions for QUintessential books stand or fall on how much appears in this chapter, so take heed!). For Monks, we have Pressure Point Attacks, new grappling options, Push Hands Competitions, the Lion Dance, Dirty Tricks (!) and new uses for skills that will allow you to emulate many of the characters seen in Hong Kong cinema.
We like to introduce new feats in every Quintessential book in order to give characters a wealth of new options, and here Patrick Younts has really outdone himself - you know you have to do a Monk character next when there are such feats available as Clever Monkey Spins the Branch, Frog on the Lilypad, Tiger Treads on Eggshells and Twin Snakes Share the Fang!
Tools of the Trade has more martial arts weaponry, armour and artefacts than you can shake a dead squirrel at - I am not even going to try to cover it all, except to say Patrick has filled 14 pages full of items that will find their way into every monastery across the land. Tournaments are a staple of Hong Kong cinema, and have a full chapter dedicated to them, while Renown allows a Monk's fame and wisdom to influence the entire world.
Martial Arts Traditions gives both a primer and rules to cover many of the forms of address and rules of conduct common in martial arts, and translates them directly to worlds of fantasy. Next up is Legendary Forms, which allows Monks to travel long and far in order to uncover lost tomes of forgotten knowledge that can allow them to truly transcend in their abilities during combat. Learn the secrets of the Shaky Palm, Tan Tui, the Mad Devil Staff or the Waking Trance. The book winds up with a sizeable chapter on Building Monasteries and Schools, which includes training equipment and attracting students.
I personally neither wrote nor edited this book, so I feel fairly safe in saying The Quintessential Monk is an awesome piece of work. If you have a Monk character, this book will expand him or her in so many cool new ways. If you don't have one - well, uyou may well after flicking through this book!
Happy gaming,
