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Rocket your D&D 5E and Level Up: Advanced 5E games into space! Alpha Star Magazine Is Launching... Right Now!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Messageboard Golem" data-source="post: 2010287" data-attributes="member: 18387">By Steven Creech, Exec. Chairman d20 Magazine RackSizing Up the Target Monster’s Handbook is the latest offering in the Legends & Lairs series by Fantasy Flight Games. This 172-page hardcover, which retails for $24.95, is intended to breathe new life into monsters by giving GMs new tools and suggestions to make those monsters tougher and more dangerous.First Blood The book opens with suggestions on modifying monsters in order to add more mystery to them and make them more menacing. An excellent explanation for calculating challenge ratings follows (which is one helluva lot clearer and easier to comprehend than any other publisher has been able to put forth). Chapter two discusses monster tactics and how to make your monsters cool. One of the biggest faults GMs tend to have is that they play monsters straightforward and dumb rather than crafty, cunning and using any special abilities to its fullest potential. The remaining chapters (3-11) address each individual monster type, going into tips for building them, how best to use feats and skills, what character classes work best, a type-specific prestige class, and new feats, special abilities and special qualities for that monster type. Critical Hits For starters, the artwork is first rate. I don’t typically comment on the art in a product because everyone’s taste varies, but the black and white art is ideal for the book’s content. The approach towards new feats that are specific to monster type (aberration, undead, etc.) is innovative and will certainly put players back on their heels when they encounter monsters tweaked with this new stuff. Critical Misses Honestly, this is one book where, try as I might, there is nothing to complain about. It is pretty much a GM-only book, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It would have been nice to see more open game content, but there is a reasonable amount as it stands now. Coup de Grace This is a book that truly belongs in every GMs collection. The new material included is great, especially the suggestions for improving existing monsters. The sample monsters provided really help with the understanding of how to properly calculate and modify challenge ratings. Most of all, the overall quality makes this a must-buy book in my opinion. GMs who effectively utilize this book will certainly have their players walking on eggshells after a few encounters. To see the graded evaluation of this product and to leave comments that the reviewer will respond to, go to Fast Tracks at <a href="http://www.d20zines.com/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=index&catid=&topic=4" target="_blank">www.d20zines.com.</a></blockquote>

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