Nightmares & Dreams

[Vacuum Elemental]

This monster book popped up in the CC2 thread so I thought I'd start a separate topic on this book. Here's my review:

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Well it is Saturday and that means more d20 stuff to buy.

I was going to pick up CC2 today but I guess it will have to wait another week or two. Instead I picked up Hackmaster and Nightmares & Dreams.

In defense of N&D, what really makes the book interesting are the dream stories.

I'm not sure if everyone is aware of the concept behind the book:

"The world of 'The Hunt' is a dark gothic and foreboding place where the dreams and nightmares of our own sleeping people on Earth filter into the world of Gothos..."

I'm sure you've seen a thread or two pop up here every month with a title like "Have you ever played as yourself?" This setting is kind of like that. It's like the bastard child of the D&D cartoon and Freddy Krueger.

Each monster gives an example story synoposis of the dream it inspires and the type of person it preys on.

There's a little humor too. Like the "Evil Clown Doll" - "Inspired by the true evil that all clowns possess...."

There are also some items and a spell (though the spell is just a special summoning spell specific to one monster). The art isn't great, but IMHO no better than most of the art in CC.

It also makes it clear that these are amateur creations. There are even State Fair-esque ribbons tacked onto 1st, 2nd and 3rd place contest winners.

I do have one BIG pet peeve with this product, as well as all of the other monster books published so far.

There are four things I need to know quickly when deciding to pick monsters. First I want to know what type they are (oustider, humanoid, ooze, etc) because I like to make sure encounters are varied. Second I want to know how challenging they are are (CR). Next I want to know what type of terrain they are suitable for. Finally I'd like to know their alignment. It would be very nice if books had four simple tables giving us this information. They don't so I make them myself. And without breaking any copyright laws, I'll try to present a few lists for N&D in my review, just to give you an idea of what type of monsters are presented.

It looks like the html doesn't work. To see the charts, go to Eric Noah's message board. A direct link to the post is here:

http://dynamic.gamespy.com/~dnd3e/ubb/Forum17/HTML/007768.html

 

[Maximus]

I have been gaming for a long time but have never cared much for reviews and all that. Lately, I have seen en world and a few others that are riding the d20 wave. That is great. I thought I would jump in now.

I have just recently picked up a few products for my game, which I have been running for a few years. One of which was this book. I got it becuase I loved the cover and at 11 dollars I did not think I could go wrong.

I had never heard of mystic eye games before and took a chance on two of thier books. This monster book is a great deal IMHO. I thought the art was as good as the creature collection book I bought a while back but the monsters were far superior. I so liked the nightmare stories that went with the monsters.

Then I saw they had lots of monsters to add to this book on their site. I have a not so good computer but I did manage to dowload several I liked.
The creation and concepts are just great, what else can you say. Some may not agree with me because the stories are a bit grim and some are down right strange.

The only thing I did not like much was that the font was a little large and it seemed to me they could have got a few more monsters in the book. For 11 dollars, it was worth it anyway. I even laughed at some of the humor and stuff.

Any one who reads about the clowns or the line about delicate little bones will know what I mean and the visceral mass thingy was disgusting and great. I think the art on that picuture was one of the best I have seen, even when compared to the Monter Manual by WOTC (not in color, sadly).

I would have called this book superb( If I getthe ratings right)had I not noted that there were some editing errors, a pet peeve of mine but don't take my writing as an example. Even still, they are minor and did not effect the book really.

I say this book is good and worth the money, even if you just read it.

Maximus

 

[Tuerny]

Nightmares and Dreams is the second product in Mystic Eye Games' line of d20 products. Designed for use with the Hunt: Rise of Evil campaign setting, Nightmares and Dreams contains monsters created from the dreams and nightmares of people on Earth. The Hunt: Rise of Evil campaign setting is not required to use Nightmares and Dreams. More information on the Hunt: Rise of Evil campaign setting can be found at www.mysticeyegames.com.

The Book
Nightmares and Dreams, a standard laminated, perfect bound booklet, is seventy-two pages long. The margins are filled with the illustration of a gargoyle-encrusted wall and are generally 1" wide.
The cover illustration, by David Manuel, depicts a Soul of Evil fighting a Pardoner. It is a decent illustration that matches the mood of the content well. The interior artwork, by a variety of artists, is composed of black and white drawings of each of the monsters. The drawings really are a mixed bag. They very from reasonably well rendered and creepy, such as the Incinerated, to those that are less than stellar, such as the Blob.

The Meat/The Good/The Bad
Nightmares and Dreams contains thirty-two monsters, three templates, ten magic items, two NPCs, four adventure hooks, a poison, and a spell. The monsters, which are primarily undead, outsiders, and aberrations, follow a horror theme with varying degrees of bizarreness. While in many cases this bizarreness creates interesting and innovative monsters, in some cases the resulting monsters are bizarre almost to the point of being unusable in campaigns outside of Gothos.
One are of particular note in Nightmares and Dreams is the Nightmare/Dream entry found in each monster's description. Each one is a short piece of fiction detailing the Earth inhabitant's dream that resulted in the monster's existence. Most of these are rather interesting and add a lot of flavor to the entries. In some parts of the book this section is more enjoyable than the actual monster, and oftentimes provide some insight into ways that you can use that monster.
The included extras, beyond the monsters, are largely used to highlight and supplement the noted monster. Several monsters include the magic items that can be used to summon or create that particular monster, or item that can be made from that monsters remains. Like the Nightmare/Dream entries, these generally add to the value of the particular entries providing them with a greater level of usability.

Rating: 3/5
Nightmares and Dreams is a worthwhile buy if you are a fan of the Hunt: Rise of Evil campaign setting, if you love weird and bizarre monsters, or if you wish to add some more horrific monsters to your campaign. Many of these monsters would suit certain domains of Ravenloft well.

 

[Messageboard Golem]

Nominated for 2 ENnies!

"Brothers, we have determined that somewhere out in the ether of space, there is another realm, a realm where those who live, breathe and sleep may very well control the fate of our poor, misfortunate world. The Brothers of the Watchful Eye theorize that our world is plagued by creatures built upon nothing more than the dreams and nightmares of that other world. But lo, before you scoff, think about the power and terror of your own nightmares. In order to better understand and defend ourselves from these creatures, we have begun to catalogue their habits and powers. Brothers, we are truly at war with monsters and I pray to all the gods to deliver us from this evil."

-Arch Priest of the All Father, Miguel de Bivar, Third Synod of Dunreth

Nightmares and Dreams is a d20 System core book for The Hunt; Rise of Evil campaign setting that presents a menagerie of creatures and items that demonstrate the power that our dreams and nightmares might have on other realms. Although, the material presented here relates to The Hunt: Rise of Evil, it can easily be adapted to any d20 campaign.

Each entry has an original vignette that helps to explain the origin of the creature and also serves to set the mood for adventures based around these monsters.