Penumbra Fantasy Bestiary or Monsternomicon?

[Razuur]

They are both great books, but I think the Monsternomicon edges out the Bestiary just because of the extra information attached to each creature. Plus, I think the Monsternomicon has better art. The Bestiary has that need little encounter icon thingie though that is real neat.

In the end, though - they are both great books and worth every penny.

Razuur

 

[FullTinCan]

I would vote for Legacy of the Dragon

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?

As a write in vote, I would vote for the Legacy of the Dragon (http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=2499) by Monte Cook and Mike Mearls. Its presently available only in PDF form, so this could be a hang-up (or a plus) for you. The monsters are very well thought out, with very unique ideas. Each of the monster write ups provide a potential encounter with those monsters. Good stuff.

 

[Desdichado]

I just bought Legacy of Dragons as well, and so far I've been impressed enough with it that I'll probably buy the print version when it's out as well. [sigh] That's exactly why I don't like buying PDFs...

 

[Painfully]

I've had the Monsternomicon since it first came out. I love the layout of the pages, the descriptions, and even the size comparison icons of each creature. But, overall, I have found little use for MOST of the creatures from that book. I suppose it really depends on whether the creatures from Monsternomicon will fit well in your campaign.

I still like the book very much, but again, it just isn't finding much use for me these days. Too many humanoids, a handful of things that are specific to steampunk that I cannot use, and then I am left with a few beasts, and a few variants of things that can be considered simple variations of what is in the MM.

While I do love the Penumbra line of products as a whole, I also remember putting the Fantasy Bestiary back on the shelf without too much interest. For now, I'm out of DM mode, so I might give it a second look when the time is right.

 

[John Q. Mayhem]

I just want to say that MN1 has a very pulpy-gothic fairy tale flavor. It has frickin' gremlins that cause glitches in machines, for one. Trapperkin are evil little fey that kidnap children and leave magical dolls in their place, then torture and eat the kids. Boatmen are crossbreeds between hags and heroes that lure people on their magical boats and then consign them to the depths where their undead spawn lurk, unless you can trade them something that interests them. It has the bridge troll from The Three Billy Goats Gruff, with a bit added on. It also has three PrCs: The Adventuring Scholar, who adventures scholarly; the Monster hunter, who hunts monsters; and the Bone Grinder, who makes bits of critters into magical charms.

 

[barsoomcore]

If you're having trouble deciding, try this:

Make sure you have enough cash to meet the price of the Monsternomicon in your pocket.
Go to your FLGS.
Pick up their copy of the Monsternomicon.
Turn to the page for the "Satyxis" entry.

Suddenly you're at home, trying to work these creatures into your campaign, and you realise you have no memory of actually BUYING the book.

At least, that's more or less what happened to me. But I'm a sucker for a pretty face.

 

[Garnfellow]

I’m a big fan of both Atlas specifically and monster books generally, but I still really can’t recommend the Penumbra Fantasy Bestiary. Oh, it's got some good points – it's big, includes a great set of indices, provides neat adventure hooks for every monster, and clearly delineates between open and closed content. And did I mention it was big?

But the book is really expensive, the art is only OK, the rule implementations are only adequate, the flavor text sections are hard to read, and it uses 3.0 rules. These are drags, but not outright deal killers.

My two big problems are (1) as a whole, this monster collection has a scattershot feel, which is probably due to the numerous contributors, and (2) the book has way too many cutesy or gimmicky monsters for my tastes. On the other hand, if you like tinker gnomes, or run a high-fantasy, heavy role-playing game, you may very well love the Bestiary.

Have you considered the Tome of Horrors? It’s probably the non-core monster book that gets the most use in my campaign.

 

[Desdichado]

Have you considered the Tome of Horrors? It’s probably the non-core monster book that gets the most use in my campaign.

Y'know, the assignment I mentioned earlier? Where I was going through all my monster books noting what monsters I might consider using in my campaign that starts next week? I actually had a much longer list from Tome of Horrors than I thought I would.

I've always said that ToH didn't particularly impress me; that much of the reason for it's popularity was that it restored a number of creatures from prior editions that had been missing, and that as far as I was concerned, they were better off left behind.

But my ToH list was amongst the longest of any monster book I own. Granted, at least half of the ones I put on my list were Scott Greene originals, not converted 1e monsters, but still; I suppose you can consider this a somewhat backhanded recommendation for the book as well.

 

[CSB046]

Dangerous Denizens (from Kenzer) is a really nice monster book. It will see more use in my campaign than Monsternomicon, PFB, and Tome of Horrors, though all three of those are very good (if very different) books.

And no, I do not run an actual Kingdoms of Kalamar campaign. Strictly homebrew (with lots of "borrowed" material...).

P.S. If I had to choose between Monsternomicon and PFB, I guess I would take PFB for its variety. However, it IS overpriced.

 

[Garnfellow]

But my ToH list was amongst the longest of any monster book I own. Granted, at least half of the ones I put on my list were Scott Greene originals, not converted 1e monsters, but still; I suppose you can consider this a somewhat backhanded recommendation for the book as well.

I had a similar experience myself -- I bought the ToH figuring that it would mostly have nostalgia value, and didn't foresee actually using many of these critters in my campaign. But the rule implemenations are rock solid, the art is pretty good, and the thing is just plain huge. I have only a few quibbles -- like the lack of an index (bad Necromancer, bad!). But all-in-all, this one's a workhorse.