Player's Guide to Faerun: monsters back in?

[Shade]

I know at one time that Richard Baker said that the monsters were removed from PGtF and would be released in later books. However, the art gallery shows a bunch of critters:

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ag/20040306a

If these monsters are indeed in there, then it looks like the gorynych will quickly join the dimetrodon in the Creature Crypt.

However, I am excited about the flameskull and nighthaunt.

 

[Shade]

Well, I found the answer pretty fast. It looks like we'll have to wait.

QUESTION: "Any idea when or in what format we'll see the Monster that where cut from the book? I noticed with some interest that the art for the monster was included in PGTF gallery even though they'd been cut from the book"

Richard Baker: "Yes, it will be an early 2005 product. We did manage to add some extra monster conversions to the FR monster conversion web feature that will be posting soon, so any critters that were going to be converted/redone in the PGtoF will have some "placeholder" info in that supplement."

 

[BOZ]

then we get to keep the newly redone gorynych for another year.

 

[Gez]

The art was put into the PGTF gallery because it was commissioned for the PGTF.

It's not the first time it happens, the MM2 gallery had some monsters that were finally published in the FF (and a couple that are not published to this day).

 

[BOZ]

i remember that. what else has not yet made an appearance?

and it looks like we'll also lose the metalmaster when that gets printed somewhere, so we won't be revising it.

 

[Shade]

These are the only critters from the MM2 gallery I can't find in another book:

Cold Spirit
Dune Reapers
Silt Horrors

I wouldn't be surprised if the Cold Spirit were renamed and has actually appeared. The other two could possibly appear in Dragon's Dark Sun treatment next issue.

 

[Ashardalon]

Well, the product has been revealed: It is Ancient Empires:

[font=verdana, arial, helvetica]Hmmm, well, hadn't seen that before. Uh, in that case--yeah, we are doing a book called Ancient Empires. The authors are Travis Stout and Ed Bonny. I handled the mechanical development work on the book, while Eric Boyd and George Krashos handled a Herculean job of continuity-checking and tweaking.

The main features of the book include:
- A chapter on feats and prestige classes themed around ancient empires.
- A chapter on monsters you often find in or around ancient ruins (which, coincidentally enough, is pretty much the PGtoF's cut monster chapter, with a few new additons).
- A chapter each on half-a-dozen key eras/regions/groupings of fallen empires.
- A number of ready-to-play adventure sites themed around the ruins.
- A brief look at some of the more important "dead" gods, and (at last) a mechanical explanation for why some still have clerics running around.
- A map of Faerun as it appeared in -676 DR, 2000 years ago.[/font]

 

[BOZ]

good deal!

 

[Knight Otu]

I really like the post above this.

[font=verdana, arial, helvetica]I can neither confirm nor denY that speculation. If therE were such a product in the workS, you might see it sometime in 2005. If there were, that is.[/font]

 

[Shade]

That is funny! Richard Baker seems like a pretty cool individual. I always enjoy reading his "ask the designers" thread, since he actually attempts to answer most questions.