SurfMonkey01
First Post
I want a monster manual that's not the core one, and I decided a while back that the Creature Collections are not for me... I've narrowed it down to these two, but I can't decide... what say you all?
Penumbra Fantasy Bestiary or Monsternomicon?
- Thread starter SurfMonkey01
- Start date
DragonLancer
Hero
SurfMonkey01 said:
I recommend the Monsternomicon. True that it has a couple of monsters that are very much steampunk in nature, but the creatures presented are very well done and I've found them suitable for the majority of campaign settings.
John Q. Mayhem
Explorer
I haven't read Penumbra, so I can't compare, but I really like Monsternomicon.
Gothmog
First Post
I have gotten MUCH more use out of Penumbra. Monsternomicon is ok, but there are LOTS of critters in it of the same time (monstrous humanoid and undead mainly). Both books have good background detail and adventure hooks given for each critter. Penumbra has many more creatures, of much more varied type, which puts it way ahead IMO.
barsoomcore
Unattainable Ideal
I'll make the opposite claim (just to make this whole thread useless):
Monsternomicon is one of the best RPG purchases I've ever made. Bestiary has MORE creatures, but the creatures in Monsternomicon are uniformly cool. Love it.
Monsternomicon is one of the best RPG purchases I've ever made. Bestiary has MORE creatures, but the creatures in Monsternomicon are uniformly cool. Love it.
Olive
Explorer
Haven't seen the prenumbra book, so can't comment. Monsternomicon is a great book, but it's very much aimed at a different kind of campaign. I might use it for the core MM of my next, non-trad campaign, but I probably won't bring anything into my current, fairly straight Mediveal Europe-based one.
LostWorldsMike
First Post
I love monster books. Love 'em to pieces (not literally - I'm horribly anal retentive about my books... but I digress).
That said, I like the Monsternomicon MUCH more than the Penumbra book. I haven't been able to bring myself to buy the Bestiary for my personal collection, even though one of my customers swears its a great book. It just kinda leaves me cold.
Sure there are more critters in the Bestiary, but they don't really seem to have a thematic link. The shear bulk, I think, dilutes the effect of the whole and leaves it seeming like an almost random conglomeration of beasties. From the multiple cursory looks through the book I've made (while contemplating removing it from my store shelves and adding it to my personal shelves), it also seems to vary greatly in quality from monster to monster (in the art, the game mechanics, and the usability of creature).
The Monsternomicon is the opposite of the Bestiary, at least as far as the things I've just described as not liking. I enjoy the style of art in the Monsternomicon a great deal (that doesn't make it better, I guess, just that it's more appealing to me); I appreciate the "take" on fantasy embodied in the Iron Kingdoms more than Penumbra (at least as far as I'm familiar with both - which is kinda hard for IK, since there isn't much available just yet).
And I'm prattling on...
For me, while the Monsternomicon may have fewer creatures in it, it has a much greater number of creatures I can use than does the Penumbra Bestiary. Which one is more useful to you depends more on what type of fantasy you like, and what kind of campaign you run.
That said, I like the Monsternomicon MUCH more than the Penumbra book. I haven't been able to bring myself to buy the Bestiary for my personal collection, even though one of my customers swears its a great book. It just kinda leaves me cold.
Sure there are more critters in the Bestiary, but they don't really seem to have a thematic link. The shear bulk, I think, dilutes the effect of the whole and leaves it seeming like an almost random conglomeration of beasties. From the multiple cursory looks through the book I've made (while contemplating removing it from my store shelves and adding it to my personal shelves), it also seems to vary greatly in quality from monster to monster (in the art, the game mechanics, and the usability of creature).
The Monsternomicon is the opposite of the Bestiary, at least as far as the things I've just described as not liking. I enjoy the style of art in the Monsternomicon a great deal (that doesn't make it better, I guess, just that it's more appealing to me); I appreciate the "take" on fantasy embodied in the Iron Kingdoms more than Penumbra (at least as far as I'm familiar with both - which is kinda hard for IK, since there isn't much available just yet).
And I'm prattling on...
For me, while the Monsternomicon may have fewer creatures in it, it has a much greater number of creatures I can use than does the Penumbra Bestiary. Which one is more useful to you depends more on what type of fantasy you like, and what kind of campaign you run.
CCamfield
First Post
I'd have said the Bestiary is pretty varied. There's quite a few fey creatures, and some unusual constructs (jewel golems... construct snakes... terra-cotta warriors), magical beasts, undead, dragon-type creatures... a big mix of stuff.
If you don't want steampunk elements, how useful is the Monsternomicon?
If you don't want steampunk elements, how useful is the Monsternomicon?
jester47
First Post
Easy!
Tome of Horrors 2 from necromancer games!
;-)
Seriously I found Monsternomicon to be a great monster book.
But... I realised I would never use it because all the monsters in it can be made using the MM, class levels, and race combinations, and wind up being ore to what I need.
Dunno about penumbra...
Aaron.
Tome of Horrors 2 from necromancer games!
;-)
Seriously I found Monsternomicon to be a great monster book.
But... I realised I would never use it because all the monsters in it can be made using the MM, class levels, and race combinations, and wind up being ore to what I need.
Dunno about penumbra...
Aaron.
