Monster Books vs. Do-It-Yourself Monsters?

[Knight Otu]

I'm curious. How many of you like monster books? The general consensus seems to be that DMs in general like monster books, but many people on the boards are of the opinion that there are too many monster books. Do YOU like monster books?

Another thing I see is, people who create monsters seem to be in general more excited about monster books. Do YOU create monsters yourself?

So, I am basically asking a two part question - do you like monster books, and do you create monsters yourself? I think the outcome of this might be interesting.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

A happy story:

I thought monster books were stupid until I played in a dungeon that had all weird and crazy monsters from a weird and crazy monster book. Now I like monster books.

THE END

 

[gamecat]

I do both, whatever enhances my campaign best.

 

[Zappo]

I generally don't like monster books. The MM alone has more creatures than what I would use in a lifetime, especially when you consider the possibilities of templates and class level advancement.

When I want a monster with certain qualities that aren't found in the MM, I design one. That way, I can make sure it's exactly as I want it.

That said, I do like campaign monster books - such as the old [setting] Monster Compendium Appendix books. They are monster books, but first and foremost they are part of the setting.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

I usually end up focussing on NPCs and everything except monsters...and most of the enemies in my games are NPCs, so the few times I use monsters I just grab them from a book. Nice selection from strange to cool, and less time for me.

 

[Bulak]

That said, I do like campaign monster books - such as the old [setting] Monster Compendium Appendix books. They are monster books, but first and foremost they are part of the setting.

Word.

That said, I like other monster books as well. Especially those with nice artwork.

I also like to make monsters myself.

 

[Nifft]

Monster books are good sources of inspiration. If the monsters are well done and the CRs are accurate, you can frequently find something similar to what you want and tweak it a little, or get an idea of how powerful a specific set of abilities are.

That, and I like the pretty pictures.

-- Nifft

 

[senodam]

I have a near obsessive passion for new monster books, especially those with truly off the wall creatures inside. It's partly the wonder of finding something new, and partly the looks on my player's faces at a critter they've never seen before. I have dabbled in monster creation- even got one into a book (but it got slammed in a review *sob*) Simply put- monsters rock.

 

[arwink]

Either or. I love new monster books, I like designing my own. It depends on what I feel like and how much time I've got on any particular week.

 

[Olive]

i like monster books, but i'm not very good at making my own monsters up. So I don't.